Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the ANC following a peaceful protest against the Spanish King’s visit to Montserrat
The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) denounces a serious attack on freedom of expression by the Catalan Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Safety, following the opening of disciplinary proceedings against the organisation for convening a protest during the King’s visit to Montserrat –mountain and symbol of Catalonia– on June 23.
Assemblea has submitted allegations and requested that the case be dismissed, as the exercise of the right to demonstrate –a fundamental right– cannot be subject to sanction. Passive resistance during a demonstration can never be considered an anti-democratic act; it is a legitimate right protected by international human rights law.
The protest held on 23 June 2025 against the visit of the Spanish Head of State responded to a legitimate interest: expressing citizens’ rejection to that visit. The demonstration was peaceful, except for moments of tension caused by pushing and use of batons by the Mossos d’Esquadra police against the demonstrators. In response, and in self-defence, protesters engaged in passive resistance by sitting on the ground. Portraying demonstrators as violent is unbecoming of a democratic police force and reflects an attempt to undermine the fundamental rights to assembly, protest, and political dissent.
Of serious concern is the content of the police report, which includes descriptions of fabricated facts aimed at justifying police actions and administrative sanctions. Such practices are incompatible with democratic standards and seek to legitimize a disproportionate response that failed to respect freedom of expression. Penalizing peaceful resistance constitutes a repressive mechanism that distorts the very essence of fundamental political rights.
The events described in the police statement are false. The audiovisual material provided by the Mossos demonstrates the opposite: it was the police officers who pushed, hit and forced the demonstrators to retreat, generating unnecessary situations of tension. There is no evidence to prove any aggression by protesters.
The European Court of Human Rights clearly establishes that police operations must never aim to prevent a protest in order to avoid political criticism, even when such criticism is inconvenient or directed at a Head of State.
Furthermore, Assemblea denounces that during the operation, police officers confiscated pro-independence estelada flags and banners –elements that are inseparable from the right to protest. This constitutes a serious violation of basic political rights. For this reason, the organisation considers it necessary to publicly denounce this undemocratic conduct by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Catalan socialist government, and the repressive approach adopted by the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Civil disobedience is not a crime. It is a democratic expression aimed at safeguarding fundamental rights, and it becomes even more necessary when those very rights are restricted by the institutions responsible for guaranteeing them.
Defending peaceful protest, freedom of expression and civil disobedience as a legitimate tool is defending democracy.
Assemblea remains firm in its commitment to Catalonia’s self-determination and independence.
Catalonia has no king.