Judge Manuel García-Castellón has concluded that Tsunami Democràtic was a “terrorist organization” created to “subvert the constitutional order” in which former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont held “an executive leadership position.”
Prosecutor Miguel Ángel Carballo, who has led the accusations against independence leaders in the
process
since 2017 at the National Court , denies this: “Tsunami Democràtic, in what has been proven in the procedure, is nothing more than a Twitter profile and in its most advanced phase, an
app
designed to access QR codes that would allow knowledge of communications issued by that supposed entity (...), resulting at most in something that would become a hook flag for various activities, some of a criminal nature”, but in no case terrorism.
“The evidence recorded about Puigdemont is insufficient to charge him,” the prosecutor also concluded.
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A tsunami called García-Castellón
The judge sent a reasoned statement to the Supreme Court to investigate Puigdemont, given his status as a European parliamentarian with jurisdiction before that court.
After studying García-Castellón's request and without analyzing Carballo's arguments, the Supreme Court's board of criminal prosecutors resolved by 11 votes to four that there is sufficient evidence to charge Puigdemont with terrorism.
The final decision remains in the hands of the lieutenant prosecutor of the Supreme Court, María de los Ángeles Sánchez Conde, who will analyze the presentation of Judge García-Castellón and the appeal of prosecutor Carballo, to decide if there is sufficient evidence against Puigdemont and inform the five magistrates. of the Supreme Court in charge of the case.
What follows summarizes the arguments of the judge and the prosecutor on facts whose interpretation will affect the application of the future amnesty law.
Reasoned statement without specifying or specifying the facts
Judge García-Castellón issued an order on November 6, 2023, four years after the investigation was opened, in which he pointed out signs of terrorism regarding various people that “had to be clarified.”
Although there were two politicians involved (the MEP Carles Puigdemont, a fugitive from justice, and the autonomous ERC deputy Ruben Wagensberg), the judge understood that it was not appropriate to send a reasoned statement to the Supreme Court: “It will be necessary to specify more precisely their participation in the facts".
García-Castellón cited the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court to justify his refusal: “The jurisdiction of the Second Chamber is not established except when it is proven that there are solid indications of responsibility towards an authorized person.
More or less close possibilities, or indirect allusions, are not enough (...) It is necessary that there be well-founded and serious evidence and a clear and concrete imputation or evidentiary support."
Only 15 days after this ruling, Judge García-Castellón sent the reasoned statement to the Supreme Court against Puigdemont and Wagensberg despite the fact that, according to the prosecutor, no new steps were taken to precisely determine the participation of both politicians in the events.
“The submission of the reasoned statement,” writes prosecutor Carballo, “is a kind of ex officio reform of the judge's own order, without any foundation, without new proven facts and without any diligence having been carried out that has collected new indications of criminal responsibility regarding Wagensberg and Puigdemont.”
The Geneva meeting whose content is unknown
García-Castellón maintains that Puigdemont had “a dominant position in the actions carried out by Tsunami Democràtic” and points out, among the evidence against the former president, a meeting held in Geneva between August 29 and 31, 2019, “where there could have been planned the performance of Tsunami Democràtic.”
Prosecutor Carballo accuses the judge of assuming “without any basis” that the Tsunami issue was discussed at the Geneva meeting: “This is nothing more than a presumption based on the mere fact that three days later it was published on Twitter for the first time a profile related to that platform.”
The prosecutor censures the judge for attributing statements to the leader Marta Vilalta that she never uttered and, to demonstrate this, he reproduces the information from EL PAÍS of September 2, 2019, where Vilalta denies that the parties were behind the Tsunami Democràtic mobilizations, although they were aware of its creation.
Direct messages about Tsunami and the president
Girona businessman Josep Campmajó wrote a message to Josep Lluís Alay, director of Puigdemont's office: “On Monday, August 26, the profiles of the Tsunami Democràtic campaign will be announced in response to the Supreme Court ruling.
I suppose that from Òmnium [Cultural] they will report directly to President Puigdemont.”
Judge García-Castellón concludes: “It can be considered that both this foundation and Puigdemont could have participated in the appearance of the organization.”
Prosecutor Carballo draws the opposite conclusion: "What can be deduced precisely is that if Puigdemont must be informed of the profiles of the campaign, it is that he is not aware of it and has not participated in its preparation."
Puigdemont to a businessman: “If there is a death (...), we will lose”
The reports prepared by the Civil Guard include a single conversation in which Puigdemont participates with Josep Campmajó.
- Campmajo.
So many cracks have opened that it is leaking.
On the street everything is factions.
Reflection of what happens in the Government.
I know the images don't help your extradition request.
Nothing, although it's the f... reality.
The reality is not the reports from the
police
, nor from the Interior, nor from the one who is scared.”
- Puigdemont.
“(...) The problem can come if there is someone dead, it doesn't matter which side.
That would be very hard and will confirm what I have always said (and that led me to decide to go into exile): we will lose.”
Page from the Civil Guard report on the 'Tsunami case' that includes the conversation between Puigdemont and Campmajó.
The judge maintains that, with this statement, "Puigdemont seems to assume the possibility that fatalities could have occurred, and his ability, as he held control of the action, to stop this possibility."
However, the prosecutor does not find in these conversations “any indication of guilt regarding Puigdemont” and highlights that in the Civil Guard reports “no specific section or chapter is dedicated to Puigdemont nor are specific facts attributed to him in relation to criminal activities.” related to Tsunami.
No data on induction of violent acts
Prosecutor Carballo reflects on the protests at the Prat airport and on the AP-7 highway, which he considers aggravated public disorder, but not terrorism: “Without underestimating the seriousness that it meant for public coexistence in a certain area of Spain and in a short period of time (...) it was a platform to distribute slogans aimed generically at those who might have a predisposition to carry out acts such as those committed at the Prat airport or on the AP-7 highway (... ) There is not a single piece of information in the procedure that allows us to impute to those investigated their favorable opinion towards them, the execution of violent acts against police forces, and even less so their induction, cooperation or participation."
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