The National Court will investigate the incidents on June 15th in Parliament
The judge Eloy Velasco has accepted the case, that deals with the attacks against members of parliament commited by protesters against the spending cuts. There are calls on the Prosecutor of Barcelona to release the proceedings and recordings of the investigation
Madrid (ACN).- The judge of the Audiència Nacional, Eloy Velasco, decided to take over the investigation of the incidents that took place on June 15th this year when an outraged group protesting against spending cuts tried to prevent Members of Parliament accessing the parliament building.
The Audiència Nacional, based in Madrid, is the National Court of Spain with jurisdiction over the entire State as well as the authority to rule over international cases which are assumed by the Spanish court. The Audiència Nacional focuses on cases of a serious nature particularly those involving the state such as terrorism, extradition appeals and organized crime.
The judge considers this a crime against a high state institution, the Catalan Parliament, and therefore has decided to accept the Audiència Nacional prosecutor’s own recommendation and investigate the events.
An Interlocutory issued by the Audiència Nacional on Wednesday calls for the prosecution of Barcelona to provide a full copy of the proceedings of the investigation and recording of facts.
According to Velasco, the events in Parliament "could constitute a crime under Article 498 of the Penal Code" because the Parliament of Catalonia is a state institution and therefore is protected as an Upper Body of the Nation in the Judiciary Law.
Therefore there have been calls on the prosecutor of Barcelona to make an electronic copy of research and images available, at the disposal of the group in order "to allows the identification of some of the authors of the attacks." Article 498 of the Penal Code specifies a sentence of 3 to 5 years imprisonment for those who "employ force, violence or intimidation or present a serious threat" to any of the members of parliament, preventing them from "attending meetings."
Last June the Parliament of Catalonia was surrounded by members of the 15-M movement during budget debates to protest against public spending cuts. Paint was thrown at some members of Parliament whilst others were insulted. Despite a police presence, it was reported that several members of Parliament were jostled by the crowd. Other officials such as the president of the Generalitat Artur Mas could only reach the building by helicopter. However, no other incidents which occurred in Barcelona or in other parts of Spain as the result of 15-M activities will be investigated in the Audiència Nacional.