The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, has published a report that defends that the discourse of "peaceful" independence cannot be persecuted and argues that proposing structural or constitutional changes in a "democratic" way in a state is covered by the " freedom of expression".
The general secretary does not speak specifically of the Catalan sovereignty process, but she does base her text on the Cilevics report, which does. She determines that a criminal sanction can only be admitted for the exercise of freedom of expression in cases where violence is incited.
The document, entitled Freedom of political expression: an imperative for democracy, is nine pages long, is signed on October 6 and has already been presented to the European Committee of Ministers.
The Council of Europe report underlines the importance of states protecting freedom of expression, and that proposing changes in the structure of the territory is not something that can be pursued. This is where he points out, in particular, that these "changes" also include the promotion of the independence of a European region.
The document includes the views of departments of the Council of Europe such as its own Parliamentary Assembly, the Venice Commission, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, or the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).
Pejčinović's report is also based on an academic event at the University of Geneva with the support of the Council of Europe, where -among others- the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions participated, which has already condemned the State for violating the rights of leaders Catalan separatists imprisoned by 1-O.
Pejčinović's document is based on Resolution 2381 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Cilevics report). This text admitted that the imprisoned Catalan independence leaders were "political prisoners", and urged Spain to reform the Penal Code, specifically the crimes of rebellion and sedition.
The document also recognized that on October 1, 2017 there was no violence by citizens. He also proposed the path of dialogue and democratic resolution. The report of the Council of Europe is also expressed in a very similar line, which once again refers to the need for negotiation to resolve political conflicts.
The independence parties trust that the report can pave the way for the pro-independence leaders who have taken their cases to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in regard to freedom of expression. The prisoners for the 1-O case have accused the State of previously violating their right to freedom of expression.
