The Catalan National Assembly adheres to the statement by Catalan news media La Directa and law association Irídia.
In 2022 and 2023, La Directa uncovered several cases of Spanish police officers infiltrating pro-independence and social movements by becoming emotionally involved with activists to gather intelligence.
Sanctioning La Directa for its investigation into police infiltrations sets an extremely dangerous precedent for press freedom and the right to information.
Faced with Spain, a state that continues to fail to hold anyone accountable while shielding the undercover agents, independence is more urgent than ever!
We share the statement below:
The undersigned individuals and organisations wish to express our support for La Directa and our deep concern over the sanctions proceedings initiated by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) following its investigations into police officers who infiltrated social and pro-independence movements. The proceedings stem from a complaint filed by four of the undercover agents exposed by the media outlet.
La Directa’s investigations constitute a legitimate exercise of the right to convey and receive truthful information, as provided by Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution. They also fulfil the essential democratic role of the media as watchdogs over public authorities, especially when investigating covert police operations that affect fundamental rights.
The public interest of the information published is beyond dispute. The infiltrations uncovered led to the creation of an inquiry committee in the Parliament of Catalonia and gave rise to numerous parliamentary initiatives and questions from opposition parties in the Spanish Congress of Deputies. The cases have also been covered by other Catalan, Spanish and international media outlets, including The Guardian and La Repubblica, among others.
Despite this clear public interest, the AEPD considers certain information and images published by La Directa to be incompatible with data protection legislation. It reaches this conclusion even though the outlet adopted various measures to protect the agents’ real identities.
This decision causes a serious chilling effect and acts as a gag on investigative journalism. The threat of financial penalties and the removal of content may discourage media outlets from publishing information of public interest concerning the actions of public authorities. It therefore has an effect comparable to what are known as SLAPPs, aimed at silencing the media.
It is not only La Directa’s freedom that is at stake. This procedure could set a highly dangerous precedent for all media outlets and professionals investigating police abuse or other issues that are inconvenient for public institutions.
The AEPD’s actions stand in stark contrast to the response of public institutions in similar cases in the United Kingdom. After it emerged that undercover officers had maintained intimate relationships under false identities with activists, and thanks to sustained public and media pressure from social movements, civil society organisations and the media, both the police forces and the UK Government accepted responsibility: they apologised to the victims and compensated them. Furthermore, the identities and photographs of the undercover officers were published freely in the media and remain publicly accessible today, without this resulting in sanctions against the media outlets that reported on the facts. In Spain, by contrast, cases of police infiltration continue without an effective investigation or accountability, while the media outlet that uncovered them now faces sanctions.
Therefore, we call for:
– The immediate dismissal of the sanctions proceedings against La Directa.
– The Spanish State to introduce the necessary legislative amendments to ensure the effective implementation of Article 85 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, so that data protection legislation cannot be used to gag and censor the media.
Defending La Directa means defending society’s right to know how public authorities act.
We cannot allow those who investigate to be punished while those who infiltrate are protected.