The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) overturned a three-year prison sentence for assault on State institutions, issued in 2015 by the Criminal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, chaired by its president, Manuel Marchena.
The conviction was related to the 'Aturem el Parlament' case, a protest action that took place in the Parliament of Catalonia. Marchena, when analyzing the appeal, had previously overturned a sentence by Judge Ramón Sáez, who was in charge of the case at the National Court.
Now, the ECHR has reversed Marchena's decision, considering that the Supreme Court's sentence violated fundamental rights. The European court considered that the criminal conviction imposed by the Supreme Court was disproportionate.
This case is considered particularly serious, as it involves the president of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, whose decision was reversed by an international body.
