National Court applies amnesty to case against pro-independence activists investigated for 'terrorism'

The National Court has granted amnesty to 12 members of pro-independence activist organization the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), who were under investigation for terrorism.

In a court order issued on Friday, the tribunal decided to close the case, citing a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in July that supported the application of the amnesty to the accused.

In the text, the National Court notes that the CJEU ruled that the events under investigation “do not constitute serious, intentional violations of human rights.”

The ‘Operation Judas’ case involves twelve individuals who faced potential prison sentences ranging from eight to eleven years for terrorism-related offenses.

In 2023, the CDR activists had been ordered to face trial.

At the time, the judges of the Spanish anti-terrorism court in Madrid said they believed the accused were part of a cell made up of individuals from different CDR groups with a high degree of radicalism, who wanted to achieve Catalan independence through violence.

The judge's decree read that the supposed cell was accountable for several actions in favor of independence and against the imprisonment of political independence leaders, including blocking off roads to traffic, dumping oil on the C-55 road to prevent the transfer of the jailed leaders from Catalonia to Madrid, and forcibly lifting toll barriers.  

The accused repeatedly denied the events for which they are accused, with the independence camp describing the accusations as part of the "dirty war" of the Spanish state against dissidents who want a Catalan republic.