The TC will study next week a presentation that proposes protecting Otegi and not repeating the trial for 'Bateragune'

It opens the door for the Bildu leader to claim compensation from the State

The Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court (TC) will study in its Plenary session next week a draft sentence where the progressive magistrate Juan Carlos Campo proposes to uphold the appeal for protection presented by the general coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, against the Court's ruling. Supreme Court (TS) that ordered a repeat trial against him for the 'Bateragune case'.

According to the legal sources consulted by Europa Press, the former Minister of Justice reasons that putting him back on the bench for this matter would be a violation of the right to effective judicial protection since it would violate the principle of 'non bis in idem', which prohibits trying the same person twice for the same facts.

Furthermore, the same sources indicate that the sentence drafted by Campo, which is expected to go ahead with the support of the progressive majority of the guarantee court, opens the door for Otegi to claim compensation from the State by declaring his fundamental rights violated.

In this way, Campo assumes the thesis of the Prosecutor's Office that, in a report issued a year ago, also advocated protecting the leader of Bildu by warning of a possible violation of the aforementioned right.

It was in 2020 when the TS annulled the sentence handed down in 2012 by the National Court (AN) that sentenced Otegi and the other defendants to sentences of between 6 years and 6 and a half years in prison for a crime of belonging to a terrorist organization. He followed the criteria of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which determined that the AN violated Article 6.1 of the European Convention, since it understood the "legitimate fear" of the accused of a lack of impartiality on the part of the court.

Strasbourg did not see "any evidence" that led to thinking that there was "personal animosity" towards the accused in court, but it did see that their "doubts" were "justified." Thus, he rejected "any compensation for the appellants in the form of moral damage, considering the verification of the declaration of the violation of the requested right to be sufficient.

In its 2018 ruling, the ECtHR indicated that the trial of the National Court did not comply with all the guarantees, since Judge Ángela Murillo was part of the court, who had previously (2010) been removed for alleged lack of impartiality in a trial. previous for glorifying terrorism in which Otegi was also accused.

In that oral hearing, Murillo asked Otegi if he condemned ETA and, given his refusal to offer an answer, the judge told him that she already knew that he was not going to answer him. The Supreme Court removed the judge, who served as president of the court, from the case, appreciating "prejudice" in her. The oral hearing was repeated and the former Batasuna spokesperson was acquitted in that procedure.

After receiving the ruling from the Supreme Court, Otegi went to the Constitutional Court for protection, which agreed to process the challenge, also agreeing to the precautionary measure requested by the Basque politician, thereby suspending the execution of the TS ruling until the substance of the matter was resolved. , an issue that is now prepared to be aired.