EU ‘sometimes’ lacks ‘courage’ to ‘protect infringed rights’, says daughter of jailed leader

Relatives of jailed Catalan pro-independence leaders took part in an event in Strasboug on Tuesday, in order to have their voices heard at the European Parliament. Also present were relatives of the young men charged with terrorism for their involvement in a bar brawl in Alsasua, and the support group for convicted rapper Valtonyc, who recently left Spain to avoid entering jail.

One of the speakers was Anna Forn. She is the daughter of Joaquim Forn, a deposed Catalan official who has been in pre-trial prison in the Madrid region for almost seven months. He has spent more time behind bars than in office as a minister.

In an interview with Catalan News, Anna Forn explained that the group headed to Strasbourg “to explain the situation” they are experiencing. She referred to a “democratic regression” taking place in Spain, with the use “of the judiciary to solve a political” issue.

Dialogue and politics

“We came to the heart of Europe, because the European Union is based on dialogue and politics,” Forn explained.

With regard to the European Parliament and other EU institutions avoiding showing sympathy with jailed leaders, Forn stated that she believes the EU is sometimes “protective of the states that form it.”

“Sometimes they don’t have the courage to do what they should to protect the rights that are being infringed, in this case, in Spain,” she said, not only referring to Catalan leaders in prison, but also to the cases of Valtonyc and Alsasua.

Hope

Asked whether she has hope for her father’s cause, she replied that it is all she can have. “It will take time, and all the time that the Spanish institutions have my father in jail, this time won’t be recovered,” Forn said. “I expect a lot from the EU, and especially the court in Strasbourg because that’s the only hope I can have.”