The only pro-independence representative at the Council of Europe, Senator Laura Castel has submitted a report that warns Europe of the grave economic repression exerted by the Court of Auditors on the independence movement

Senator Laura Castel, the only pro-independence member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has submitted a report that warns of the grave economic repression exerted by the Court of Auditors on the independence movement. The report has for the time being been presented to the highest European authorities on Human Rights, Justice and Democracy, including the Secretary-General, the Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; the GRECO Group of States against Corruption; the European Commission for Democracy through Law, known as the Venice Commission; and the CEPEJ European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice.

Ms Castel has alerted all these European bodies to the serious violations of human rights entailed by the rulings of the Court of Auditors and of the direct impact that the actions of this court have at the heart of Europe. In this regard, the report recalls that Spanish state institutions have repeatedly breached human rights, as acknowledged by the United Nations Arbitrary Detention Group, multiple NGOs, and most recently by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the guarantor of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

The work we do at the Council of Europe will directly influence the immediate future of our country

Laura Castel

“The work we do at the Council of Europe will directly influence the immediate future of our country,” says Ms Castel, “and this includes the denunciation of the ceaseless repression of the independence movement by the Court of Auditors.” The Esquerra senator affirms that the Spanish state is “fearful” of the resolutions that may come from Europe. In this regard, Ms Castel points out that “we have already seen this with the latest report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,” which among other things demanded the release of political prisoners and the free return of exiles, and called for Spain to negotiate. Aware of this impact, Ms Castel assures that she will “continue to work and denounce the violations of the rights and freedoms by the institutions of the Spanish state” with the aim of “ending repression” and “fighting for amnesty and the right to self-determination.”