This Thursday, December 9, begins the trial against the activist of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgage (PAH) in Guadalajara, Diego Catriel Herchhoren, accused of crimes of insults with advertising, against privacy and disobedience to authority after the broadcast in the social network Twitter of a message with a photograph of the members of the Judicial Commission, who were carrying out the execution of the eviction of a house on March 26, 2019, in Guadalajara. Amnesty International has followed up on this case during the investigation phase, taking into account its implications regarding the exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
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The organization recognizes the right of the authorities to establish restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, but these limitations must always be provided by law, and be necessary and proportionate for the purpose of protecting a legitimate interest, such as rights and the reputation of other people. In no case should these limitations endanger the right to freedom of expression itself.
“As the United Nations Human Rights Committee has pointed out, public officials must tolerate a greater degree of criticism than ordinary citizens in relation to the position they hold and the role they perform,” said Daniel Canales, Amnesty researcher International Spain. “The use of defamation laws, such as the crime of libel, with the purpose or effect of inhibiting criticism of the government or public officials violates the right to freedom of expression.” In this regard, Amnesty International shows its opposition to the norms that criminalize defamation, whether of public figures or even of other individuals, which if it is the subject of a response by the authorities should in any case be addressed within civil proceedings and not criminal.
Amnesty International observes that the images published and that are the subject of the prosecution show members of a Judicial Commission who were on public roads performing a public function. This publication was made by an activist for the right to housing who denounced a situation of clear interest for public debate and of high social importance, such as evictions without a housing alternative that could constitute human rights violations. In particular, from Amnesty International we have also carried out public statements denouncing the execution of evictions without providing alternative housing to people without resources who suffer this eviction, as provided by international human rights law and as United Nations human rights mechanisms have urged Spain.
Amnesty International also notes that the indictment for the crime of disobedience also unduly restricts the right to freedom of expression. The authorities have argued that the publications made on social networks by the Platform for People Affected by Mortgage, to which Diego Catriel belongs, and the convening of a press conference and a demonstration to protest against the precautionary measure adopted by the Court of Instruction, ordering Twitter to remove the published image, are framed in this criminal offense by not complying with the orders of the competent authority. However, Amnesty International has noted that these only covered the publication of images related to the eviction action and images related to the Judicial Commission that carried it out. Therefore, neither the publication of messages on social networks nor the convening of a press conference and a demonstration seem to be contrary to the judicial order, but rather that these actions are part of the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression of Diego and of the PAH.
Jurisprudence of the ECHR
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has reiterated that state bodies and public officials in the performance of their official duties must accept that they are subject to broader limits of acceptable criticism than ordinary citizens, and therefore must agree to be exposed to public scrutiny. In this sense, the Court has affirmed that the actions or omissions of the government must be subject to scrutiny not only by the judicial and legislative authorities, but also by the press and public opinion.
The ECHR has also reiterated that the imposition of a prison sentence can only be compatible with the right to freedom of expression established by Article 10 of the Convention in very limited circumstances, especially when other human rights have been seriously affected, such as, for example, For example, in the case of hate speech or incitement to violence.
For all these reasons, Amnesty International considers that the facts subject to prosecution are protected by the right to freedom of expression, and for this reason it makes an urgent call to the authorities to desist from the accusation made against Diego Catriel for the crimes of insults with publicity, against privacy and disobedience to authority. In the organization’s opinion, the criminal proceeding against the human rights defender constitutes an excessive and disproportionate restriction on the exercise of Diego Catriel’s right to freedom of expression.
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