Representatives of the groups Marchas por la Dignidad (Marches for Dignity), Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (Platform of Persons Affected by Mortgages), and the collective No Somos Delito (We are not a Crime), as well as the organizations Cáritas, Greenpeace and Rights International Spain, met on June 17 with members of the European Parliament from the groups GUE/NGL and the Verdes/EFA, as well as an advisor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, under the banner “There can be no EU of human rights when one of the member states imposes gag laws."

Gag laws

These entities find themselves forced to appeal to the European Union because internal mechanisms within Spain have proven ineffective in remedying the threats that the so-called gag laws (the new penal code and the Citizen Security Law) pose to human rights. Within Spanish institutions, no measures have been taken to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms in the new Citizen Security Law, nor in the two recent reforms of the penal code.

In the meeting it was mentioned that with these laws, Spain "is pressing for a system of repression rather than one of crime-prevention; we’re facing the greatest setback to freedoms since the Franco era." In this regard, it was mentioned that in February 2015, five special rapporteurs from the UN expressed their direct rejection of these three reforms, highlighting the fact that they "threaten to violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals."

Moreover, the ambiguity of many of their precepts may lead to an arbitrary application of sanctions, making them especially dangerous and in direct conflict with the need for legal security under the rule of law.

'Summary expulsions'

Other troubling elements of the Citizen Security Law were also highlighted: the legalization of summary removals — known as "summary expulsions" — from the borders of Ceuta and Melilla with no guarantees of any kind.

"If we don’t identify migrants and evaluate their situation, how can we know if we are expelling persons who may be victims of human trafficking?" asked those who attended the meeting. This reform, which was included at the last minute and behind the backs of both the citizenry and advisory bodies, is a de facto violation of international treaties. The need to annul it immediately was strongly stated.

Finally, the organization Rights International Spain warned that unfortunately, these laws are not the only ones to contradict the principles and basic values of the European Union: there are measures that have been adopted, such as the law requiring legal fees, and others currently awaiting approval in the legislature, such as the reform of the Free Legal Aid Law, the Judicial Powers Law or the Criminal Trial Law, which may prove to be counterproductive. "We cannot permit Spain to become the next Hungary," concluded those in attendance.

MEPs pledge to act

The MEPs present at the meeting showed their deep concern with this alarming shift towards authoritarian policies in Spain, and declared in a press conference that their mission would be to "isolate the Spanish government and denounce these changes."

Among other things, they vowed to secure the support of 10 percent of the Parliament for a manifesto rejecting these laws by July 1, and thereafter to continue collecting support until they reached 300 signatures.

Other proposals that arose from the meeting included: to carry out joint actions to decry the gag laws; to compel the Spanish government to appear before the LIBE Committee (Liberty and Civil Rights) regarding the approval of these laws before the elections; to present written queries and petitions to the European Parliament; and to open a debate within the European Parliament on the question of Spain, just as was done with Hungary.