The
OLIVE PRESS
FREE
Andalucía
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 13 Issue 341 www.theolivepress.es April 15th - April 28th, 2020
Photos by Jon Clarke
Semana d e l l e Santa c n a C2020
CARRIED AWAY: Easter was a total whitewash particularly with cleaners like this on our streets, see full story on page 10
MUST LET US OUT! Lawyer appeals to EU over ‘illegal’ lockdown claims that infringe civil rights and make Spain a ‘de facto dictatorship’
A SPANISH lawyer has complained to the European Parliament that the country’s coronavirus lockdown rules are illegal. Jose Ortega believes the rules - which are more draconian than other European countries, such as Germany, the UK and Italy - are an infringement of civil liberties. The Valencia-based lawyer has sent a letter to the Human Rights sub-committee demanding that the basic right of movement is added as a modifica-
By Dilip Kuner
tion to the current state of alarm decree. “The government has illegally introduced a very dangerous and disturbing system of suspension of individual rights that could be described as a de facto transitional dictatorship,” insisted Ortega, who is best known for his work opposing new coastal laws. The letter received by MEP Leopoldo
Lopez, who sits on the sub-committee, focuses on the restrictions to travel and the right to basic ‘outdoor activity’, where risks of catching or passing on the virus are low. “It is an effective suspension of the right to free movement,” insisted Ortega. “It is a fundamental right of the individual contained in the European Convention on Human Rights and in other international human rights treaties and, of course, in the Spanish Constitution.” He added that under Spanish law citizens had the right to appeal to the courts against any clauses in the state of alarm. But as the courts have all closed down as part of the emer-
gency this is not possible, so therefore depriving people of their rights. The news comes, as it emerged that over 650,000 people had been fined in Spain for breaking the rules of the lockdown. The majority of these were for minor offences, such as not having a receipt at a supermarket or walking a dog more than 200m from homes. In most European countries, including Germany, the UK and France, citizens are allowed to take exercise outside their homes. Even in Italy at the height of the pandemic, people were allowed to take exercise once a day. In Sweden, social distancing rules only prevent meetings of groups of more than 50 people. It is however unlikely that the European Parliament will take any action against Spain at the moment. MEP Lopez, of the PP party, confirmed to OK Diario that the sub-committee on human rights had received the complaint, but admitted that the procedure was wrong. He insisted that Ortega first had to send the letter to the Petitions Committee, which is the ‘competent body’ to register this type of citizens’ request. However, he has since replied to Ortega, saying that the committee is now ‘studying his case’. Opinion Page 6
