The judiciary overturns the €10,001 fine imposed on Sílvia Orriols for her statements about Islam

The ERC Government sanctioned the leader of Aliança Catalana for a television debate in 2023. The courts have sided with Orriols and annulled the €10,001 fine.

The judiciary has annulled the fine of €10,001 that the Government of Catalonia, then led by ERC, imposed on the leader of Aliança Catalana, Sílvia Orriols, for statements in which she claimed that Islam is incompatible with the West. The sanction dates back to a television debate broadcast on 8TV in 2023, as reported by El Confidencial.

Sources from the independence party have celebrated the judicial decision. "We’re already one to zero. The Government went too far with Sílvia Orriols and has paid for it in the courts. And this will continue," they stated to this media outlet. They consider the ruling to be "a resounding victory."

The sanctioning file accused Orriols of spreading hate speech against the Muslim community. In that debate, the AC leader argued that "allowing the mass entry of Muslim immigrants is a mistake that we could pay for dearly, because basically Muslims do not recognise European democracies or our civil laws. They are governed by a religious law, which is sharia."

Furthermore, she added that in Catalonia, 300 mosques had been allowed where, according to her, "fundamentalist and radical speeches" are made and where there is gender segregation with discrimination against women, with preaching of "absolutely misogynistic, homophobic, and anti-Western texts."

The judicial resolution comes at a time of debate in the Parliament of Catalonia, where several groups plan to modify the chamber's regulations to include economic sanctions for hate speech. Parliamentary sources explain that the aim is "to have legal security to impose sanctions," as currently there is only a code of conduct without the force of law.

So far, the Parliament has only imposed one economic sanction, on Junts deputy Francesc Dalmases, and has warned two deputies from Vox without a fine. The reform, which is expected to be processed before the end of the year, would introduce the possibility of sanctions in the articles, with the force of law.

The president of the chamber, Josep Rull, has been in contact with the groups to promote the regulatory change. In February of last year, he rejected sanitary cords against the far right, but this September he has changed his mind and wants the Parliament to be "a space where people respect each other."

From Aliança Catalana, they interpret the maneuver as a direct attack. "This maneuver is due to the fear that Junts has of the rise of Aliança Catalana. It is a direct attack on Sílvia Orriols from all sides," sources from the party state. They add that insults against their leader have been thrown in the chamber by deputies from the CUP and the commons without any reprimand, and accuse Rull of being "judge and party."

The alliance supporters are convinced that each new sanitary cord benefits them electorally: "Every time they try to establish a new sanitary cord around Aliança Catalana, we rise two points in the polls. They are doing our campaign for free."

The ruling that annuls the fine represents a setback for the Generalitat and strengthens Orriols' position, who has already announced that she would appeal any sanction. The judicial ruling is not yet final and can be appealed to higher instances.