The Catalan Department of the Interior has issued an anti-monarchy protest fine of €300 to Quim Tell. He is a prominent activist and head of the Anti-Monarchist Coordinator of the Girona Regions. The sanction relates to a protest staged during a royal visit to Sant Martí Vell last July.

Authorities processed the sanction under Spain’s controversial Law on Citizen Security. This legislation is popularly known as the ‘gag law’. The demonstration opposed the presence of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and their daughters. The royals were attending a Princess of Girona Foundation event.

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Grounds for the Anti-Monarchy Protest Fine

According to the Generalitat, the anti-monarchy protest fine is justified on three main grounds. Firstly, organisers failed to communicate the demonstration to authorities in advance. Secondly, protesters attempted to obstruct the royal entourage’s routes. Thirdly, the group refused police instructions to relocate. This action is part of a broader pattern of governance. The Generalitat also oversees recent legislative changes in Catalonia affecting rural communities.

The Mossos d’Esquadra police report notes that demonstrators sat on the ground to block the path. They engaged in passive resistance. Although the resistance was non-violent, the Department of the Interior maintains Tell holds responsibility. He organised the unapproved mobilisation.

Organisers Claim Political Repression

In a defiant statement, the Anti-Monarchist Coordinator condemned the fine. They called it an act of political repression. Furthermore, they vowed that financial penalties would not deter their campaign.

“Their repression will not stop the struggle of the Anti-Monarchist Coordinator. We will always follow the radical model of peaceful non-violent disobedience. We learn from the struggles of the suffragettes, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.”

The group has drawn parallels between this sanction and a similar fine. The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) received a fine for a protest at Montserrat Abbey. That royal visit occurred a month prior to the Sant Martí Vell event.

The Coordinator views these successive fines as a coordinated “operation of punishment”. Therefore, they have offered to work jointly with the ANC to appeal the sanctions. They argue the Catalan police and Interior Department are acting as “lackeys” of the monarchy.

Despite administrative hurdles, the organisation affirmed protests would continue. They promised demonstrations with “even more awareness and scope”. Meanwhile, they called on the Catalan government to decide whom it serves: the public or the Spanish crown.

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