All the summits of leaders have in their parallel program demonstrations and street activities against it. It will also happen at the meeting that will bring together 52 senior officials from 47 countries in Granada on the occasion of the Spanish presidency of the EU on October 5 and 6. On September 7, a group of people presented a petition to the Government subdelegation to demonstrate in the center of the city on the 5th from seven to nine at night. The Government Sub-delegation banned the demonstration due to the possible coincidence between the itinerary of the protest and that of the official cars. The route of the demonstrators was clearly defined but no one yet knows which streets the authorities will circulate through. Given the prohibition, the applicants appealed to the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) that has announced on Thursday a sentence that obliges the subdelegation, the Government in short, to propose an itinerary so that the demonstrators can exercise their right.
The judges are very blunt. The right to demonstrate is enshrined in the Constitution, and its limitation "requires a specific motivation". Before prohibiting an event, the competent administration shall propose changes in the date, place or duration so that the meeting may be held." The refusal of the subdelegation, according to the sentence, is based on security problems and that possible coincidence with the official caravans from, in addition, police reports that are unknown, says the sentence.
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The refusal of the administration, in addition, proposes to the demonstrators that they be the ones who propose a different route and resubmit their petition. But, at the moment, the official route is secret and the petitioners, who foresee an attendance of 5,000 people, must present new alternative routes blindly, without knowing if they coincide with the official itinerary.
The TSJA, which has opened a "special procedure for the protection of fundamental rights" insists that the prohibition "incurs a patent lack of proportionality by prohibiting the demonstration instead of proposing an alternative route, seriously impeding the future exercise of the right." The judges understand that the administrative argument to deny the right is "scarce" and that before prohibiting definitively, it must "propose the necessary modifications" so that there are no coincidences or problems.
The court understands that it does not want to make public for security reasons the official route – which would allow the petitioners to be safe when proposing a second route – so it forces the authority to propose an alternative itinerary, which has three days to present it and cannot appeal the court.
The Government sub-delegation has explained to this newspaper that they have a period of 72 hours and that "work is already being done on the design of an alternative and safe itinerary, which allows combining the right of assembly with security." Before the end of September 24, the administration's proposal and the distance it proposes between the official route and that of the demonstrators will be known.
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