Barcelona – The Catalan Superior Court of Justice (TSJC) has assigned three magistrates to evaluate admissibility of lawsuits filed by Hazte Oír and Vox against current and former Catalan government officials regarding the departure of former President Carles Puigdemont, according to a statement released Friday.
The magistrates – María Eugènia Alegret, Núria Bassols, and Fernando Lacaba – will assess the cases after receiving a report from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The lawsuits target a range of individuals including current Catalan President Pere Aragonès, former Interior Minister Joan Ignasi Elena, former Director General of the Mossos Pere Ferrer, former Chief Commissioner Eduard Sallent, Puigdemont’s lawyer Gonzalo Boye, and the President of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Rull.
The Prosecutor, Pedro Ariche, has already recommended the lawsuits be deemed inadmissible, according to a statement from the Superior Prosecutor’s Office of Catalonia. The suits allege that the named officials aided Puigdemont’s flight following the unilateral declaration of independence in 2017.
The decision to assign magistrates follows a similar process initiated in September 2024, as reported by Cronica Global. The TSJC had previously designated the three magistrates to consider the admission of the complaints.
Two of the assigned magistrates, Alegret and Bassols, previously rejected earlier lawsuits filed against Puigdemont, citing a lack of conclusive evidence and insufficient legal basis, according to reporting from El Mundo. This prior decision has raised concerns among opponents of the former president, who fear a potential bias towards dismissing the current accusations.
However, judicial sources cited by El Mundo emphasize that each case must be evaluated independently, based on the specific evidence and circumstances presented. The magistrates’ previous rulings could influence the current proceedings, potentially indicating a reluctance to pursue charges without strong supporting evidence.
The TSJC’s decision comes amid a broader context of legal challenges related to the Catalan independence movement. The Valencian Superior Court of Justice (TSJCV) recently dismissed lawsuits against the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, regarding the management of a severe weather event, citing a lack of qualified evidence linking his actions to the outcome, as reported by La Cadena SER. The TSJCV ruling emphasized the necessitate for “qualified indications against people with parliamentary immunity” to justify an investigation.