Laura Camacho |
Madrid (EFE).- The reform of the Citizen Security Law, known as the gag law, faces a decisive step in its processing with more than forty changes agreed upon by the parliamentary majority but with the same four “stones” that the groups have not been able to clear out of the way and they are about to thwart the arrival of the goal of the new norm.
On February 1, the initiative managed not to get stuck in a presentation and, thanks to the support of ERC, the report of the bloc in favor of the modification -PSOE, Unidas Podemos, PNV, ERC, Junts and Eh Bildu- managed to go to the Committee on Interior, where it will be discussed next Tuesday and where more tweaks can be incorporated.
That the reform also overcome this penultimate step and reach the plenary session of Congress seems complicated at the moment, since the four nuclear points that have not been touched -riot control material, lack of respect for the agents, disobedience and hot returns- condition the necessary support from ERC, Junts and EH Bildu, since the project can only go ahead with 176 yeses.
A “very complicated” agreement that leaves the reform on the brink of failure
Socialist sources consulted by EFE acknowledge that the agreement is “very difficult.” They argue that they have been “generous” with the demands of ERC, EH Bildu and Junts, but make it clear that they are not willing to leave the security forces unprotected by banning rubber balls or undermining the authority of the agents in this matter. of respect and disobedience.
“We have made a lot of progress in the protection and expansion of fundamental rights for citizens such as the right to protest and expression. It would be a shame if the law ran aground on issues such as the use of riot gear”, laments a Socialist deputy.
Added to this analysis are Unidas Podemos and PNV, who have also endeavored to explain the “titanic” work carried out together with the other three parties to obtain a new law that, in their opinion, has erased the aspects that managed to rename it as a gag law. that the PP approved by an absolute majority in 2015.
For this reason, they come with something more optimistic that it will go ahead. For the spokesman for Unidas Podemos in the processing of the reform, Enrique Santiago, Tuesday is the “definitive moment” for each group to make its priorities clear and assume its decision with “responsibility”.
In the PNV, promoter of the proposed law, they call the efforts of some “ridiculous”. “For no one it will be one hundred percent as the future law would like, but you have to know where you are and what you have,” they add.
Those who do not give in at the moment do not see it that way with the argument that precisely the most harmful aspects, such as fines for disrespect to the police, remain intact, while the immediate return of immigrants is not prohibited either.
ERC sources indicate to EFE that they hope that on Tuesday there will be a new proposal that “incentives” their vote, but they warn that the reform can “die” in commission.
From EH Bildu they do not move away from that possibility and reiterate that the proposed reform is a “bis or light gag law”.
Changes agreed in more than 60% of the articles of the current law
In total, the working group has “touched up” 36 of the 54 articles and incorporated almost a dozen additional provisions based on the initiative that the PNV presented in 2017, which was frozen by the elections two years later and which finally it was salvaged in late 2020.
According to a working document prepared by Unidas Podemos, to which Efe has had access, the main changes agreed to so far and that have reached the commission through some 40 compromise amendments and another dozen partial ones are the following:
1.- The new Citizen Security Law replaces in its article 1 the expression “citizen tranquility” with “citizen coexistence”, with the aim of giving the text a “progressive” approach.
2.- The absence of prior communication will not prevent the exercise of the right of assembly as long as it is peaceful. Under the current law, these spontaneous protests were penalized as a minor infraction, from 100 to 600 euros.
Demonstrations that cause “serious disturbance of citizen security” in front of Congress, the Senate or the autonomous assemblies will no longer be a serious infraction.
3.- The absolute criterion of “truthfulness” of the agents would be eliminated from the 2015 standard to replace it with the requirement of “logic, coherence and reasonableness” in declarations and attestations.
4.- Identification times at police stations change. In addition to being practiced in an “exceptional” way, they will be a maximum of two hours, except for a “justified and verifiable” cause, which may be extended up to six hours.
5.- The mere recording and dissemination of images of police actions will not be punishable, a modification “imposed” by the Constitutional Court that in November 2020 did not endorse this precept. If it goes ahead, it will only be a serious offense when these images affect the privacy or security of the agents.
6.- The use of police video surveillance cameras on public roads must be stated in each report.
7.- The possibility of subsidiarily fining protest organizers when riots occur would be restricted compared to the current norm. They will be exempt from liability if they have adopted the security measures provided.
8.- The concept of “conciliation” is introduced, that is, the fine may be substituted or reduced if there is an agreement between the perpetrator and the injured party, in addition to opening the door to a remedial activity. These measures will be strengthened if the offender is a minor.
9.- The possession of cannabis will go from being a serious offense -fined between 601 to 30,000 euros- to a minor one -from 100 to 500 euros. The cultivation of these plants on balconies can only be sanctioned if it is accessible to the public.
10.- The amount of the fines is reduced based on the income of the sanctioned person with respect to the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI). In this way, for those who earn up to 1.5 times the SMI, the reduction will be 50% on the amount, while those who have a salary between 1.5 and 2.5 times the SMI, the reduction will be 25%. .