STATE DECLARATION The court sentence handed down to Catalan leaders by a Spanish court raises some worrying implications for the State of Samizdat. Spain's Supreme Court says in its wordy verdict that the "right to decide" is incompatible with Spain's Constitution and laws. No such incompatibility exists in democratic nations. Most nations recognise this basic legal right because they have signed up to Treaties, conventions and agreements that guarantee the right to self-determination. This raises two interesting questions: 1. Is the Spanish state saying that our declaration of independence in May 2019 was "illegal"? 2. Does Spain consider our newly-created micronation to be outside Spanish law? We believe that it is Spain that is acting outside the law. No democratic nation can say that the Convention of Montevideo (1933) is "incompatible" with their own laws, and still claim to be a "law abiding nation". The Montevideo Convention sets the legal rules by which all nations can gain recognition peacefully. Only a nation which operates outside international laws would deny this. The judgement of the Spanish Supreme Court goes beyond simply refusing to recognise the State of Samizdat. It implies that we have committed a "crime" under Spanish law by declaring our independence. This is unacceptable. We need clarification from the Spanish state. Meanwhile, while we await clarification from Madrid, the government of the State of Samizdat is temporarily placing the Kingdom of Spain on a blacklist of nations that we consider to be acting outside international law, and which we refuse to recognise on "legal" grounds. Our message to Spain is clear. With this Judgement, the Supreme Court has put into doubt the "legally" of our micronation, something which no democratic nation would ever do. By so doing, Spain has raised questions about its own legitimacy and legal framework. We urge the Spanish government to recognise internationally accepted norms and conventions...