Albert Rivera, the head of the Ciudadanos (Cs) party in Spain, addressed Catalan president Quim Torra in a Tweet on Thursday, by saying: ‘In a democracy, judges issue sentences and not politicians, like you would like Mr. Torra. If they convict your colleagues for the separatist coup in Catalonia, you have two options: either accept the verdict or end up like them.’
The comment comes hours after Torra gave a talk in Madrid in which he affirmed that a potential guilty verdict in the Supreme Court for the jailed pro-independence leaders – which is expected late September or early October – would mark a new era ‘culminating’ in independence. Catalonia’s head of government also said he will not ‘accept’ the verdict.
En una democracia las sentencias las dictan los jueces y no los políticos, como a usted le gustaría, Sr. @QuimTorraiPla. Si condenan a sus compañeros por el golpe separatista en Cataluña, tiene usted dos opciones: o lo acata o acabará como ellos. https://t.co/rb7oHSr7Dw
— Albert Rivera (@Albert_Rivera) September 5, 2019
Rivera’s Catalan party colleague, Lorena Roldán, accused Torra of being’confrontational’ and instigating a negative response towards Spain among people partaking in this year’s ‘La Diada‘ celebrations (Catalonia’s National Day on 11 September).
The head of the People’s Party (PP) in Catalonia, Alejandro Fernández, criticized Torra’s comments by casting doubt on the veracity of his assertions: ‘Before taking his threats seriously, we should all remember that Torra said he would name Puigdemont president and that Catalonia would be independent in 6 months’ time.’
On the other hand, Jessica Albiach of Catalunya en Comú said that Torra should stop making empty statements and that he should explore all possible methods leading to the release of the jailed pro-independence leaders.