Jurists warn that reforming the crime of terrorism could have the same consequences as 'yes means yes'

They believe that it would also undermine Spain's credibility as a partner in the global fight against terrorism.

Jurists warn that reforming terrorism crimes in the Penal Code could lead to the same consequences as what is known as the 'yes means yes' law, that is, the release of convicted persons or the reduction of sentences. They consider that it would also undermine Spain's credibility as a partner in the international fight against terrorism.

The former deputy of the Commons in Congress and Sumar's negotiator with ERC and Junts, Jaume Asens, proposed this week a possible reform of the Penal Code for terrorism crimes after Junts' rejection of the amnesty law because it did not completely shield the cases of terrorism, since it exempted them from forgiveness when they had been committed clearly, with direct intention and involved serious violations of Human Rights.

In statements to Europa Press, Bernardo del Rosal, professor of Criminal Law at the University of Alicante, warns that if the crime of terrorism is reduced only to the so-called crimes of blood "there would be people in prisons who would no longer fit the definition." of terrorism".

Thus, he points out that "the sentences would have to be reviewed" and in some cases "lesser sentences should be applied" that could lead to release from prison. "It's throwing a stone into a pond that is calm and stirring the waters in an unpredictable way," he says.

Another of the voices consulted by Europa Press, the criminal lawyer and professor of Criminal Law at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) Luis de las Heras, explains that with a reform of terrorism crimes, "exactly the same thing would happen as what has happened with the law of 'only yes means yes'". According to him, the new law would have to be applied retroactively to "all convicted persons" for whom the legal text is "more favorable."

Enrique Gimbernat, emeritus professor of Criminal Law at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), also emphasizes that this modification would also affect those who have not yet been convicted and - being in the investigation phase - could see the cases that were in place archived. his against.

Manuel Cancio Meliá, professor of Criminal Law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and permanent member of the General Codification Commission, also agrees with this premise, understanding that a modification of the definition of terrorism in the Penal Code "would generate an effect like that of the law of 'only yes is yes'". This jurist, however, is confident that said reform will not be carried out.

Regarding the fact that there is now an attempt to separate so-called blood crimes from terrorism, Gimbernat recalls that for several years the majority of cases in this area that the National Court judges are related to jihadism, which for the most part does not cover people who had carried out terrorist actions with explosives or human losses, but also includes crimes of jihadist indoctrination, financing and cooperation with the Islamic State.

Del Rosal insists that currently terrorism is not only ETA or the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) linked to the Catalan independence movement that are awaiting trial in the National Court, "but also jihadist terrorism" or that can be limited to other areas of conflict in the Middle East, the Red Sea or Russia.

"Right now in a global world, in which if you touch a toothpick in one place it has a butterfly effect. Any modification must be done very carefully," he points out.

In this sense, Del Rosal emphasizes that, although the reform of the Penal Code to modify the crimes of sexual assault "only had national consequences", a reform of the crimes of terrorism would have "international consequences."

PROBLEMS WITH EXTRADITIONS PREDICT

For this professor at the University of Alicante, in this case the problem would be that Spain would remain an "unreliable partner" in the fight against terrorism. "One thing is the level of politicians, but another thing is the day-to-day cooperation of judicial bodies and police," he indicates in reference to cases of arrests on Spanish soil of people investigated for terrorism in other countries of the Union. European.

Del Rosal recalls that, with regard to terrorist crimes, Spain has a regulatory framework that is not its own, but is "in tune" with that of the European Union. "The definition of terrorism is not invented by the Spanish legislator, it is the result of a consensus," he assures.

This criminal expert insists that modifying the Penal Code would "detune" Spain from that European legislation "for all purposes", something that would allow - for example - to "refuge" on Spanish soil someone who violates the legislation of another country of The Union is a terrorist and not for Spain. "That would generate a problem of international cooperation. You are left out of a global combat," he details.

On this point, Gimbernat recalls that Spain can only hand over people who are wanted for conduct that is criminal here and in the country that demands the handover, so he understands that a reform of terrorism crimes could affect Madrid's relationship with other European capitals.

For Cancio Meliá, however, the problem is in the opposite case: in the fact that in Spain a judge describes as terrorism the events attributed to the Catalan independence platform 'Tsunami Democràtic' in the context of the riots that took place. place after the Supreme Court ruling that condemned the leaders of the 'procés'. In his opinion, judges from Brussels or Paris would not share this qualification.