Global criminal justice watchdog Fair Trials has submitted a report to Spain's third Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council which it says "focuses on the ways in which broad counter-terrorism laws are adversely impacting human rights in Spain". In particular, "counter-terrorism laws have led to violations of freedom of expression, and pre-trial detention practice results in violations of the right to liberty". "The excessive discretion that criminal law leaves to judges fundamentally undermines the rule of law in Spain," they write.
The "overuse of pre-trial detention and lack of alternative measures remain systemic problems in Spain", the report says. It claims that, since Spain's last Universal Periodic Review, "there have been no legislative or practical developments that would have any significant impact on the frequency with which pre-trial detention is applied in Spain [...] nor are there any future plans to introduce such legislation".
"Terrorism charges have been applied to cases arbitrarily, which has had a significant impact on fair trial rights in Spain, in particular, on the abusive use of pre-trial detention, as courts tend to order pre-trial detention on unlawful grounds such as the gravity of the offence", the organisation adds in a press statement.
The report places special emphasis on the so-called Alsasua case, a bar fight involving a group of young people and two off-duty Civil Guard officers. Three young men would end up serving over two and a half years in pretrial detention. Prosecutors would argue for terrorism charges given that some of the youths involved were "allegedly members of a non-violent social movement called Alde Hemendik (‘Get out of here’) that advocates for the removal from Navarre of the state’s police forces, [which was ] also one of the original claims of the terrorist group, ETA, [leading them] to draw a link between the two groups".
In the press statement, they clarify their "three main" with Spain's use of pretrial detention: "the fact that pre-trial detention is frequently ordered on the basis of unlawful grounds, the lack of alternative measures to pre-trial detention, and the potential length of pre-trial detention".
As such, they call for the review to recommend that Spain: "repeal Article 578 of the Criminal Code [...] to protect freedom of expression; ensure that pre-trial decisions at all stages include specific reasoning tailored to the individual case; ensure that the law provides for more alternative measures to pretrial detention, and amend the law to include shorter maximum terms [for] pretrial detention".