STANDING outside St Leonard's police station in Edinburgh, Clara Ponsati's lawyer issued a statement ahead of her arrest.

Aamer Anwar, who is representing her, reassured the public that Clara remained "defiant" in the face of Spain's extradition bid.

Video from Gordon Terris

The ex-Catalan education minister, who is facing extradition to Spain, handed herself in to police in Edinburgh after she was made the subject of a European Arrest Warrant.

A Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants on Friday for Ponsati and other fugitive politicians including ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who was detained by German police at the weekend.

READ MORE: Legal crowdfund for Clara Ponsati raises over £150k

Ponsati is being sought by the authorities in Madrid on charges of "violent rebellion and misappropriation of public funds" over her role in Catalonia's independence referendum last year.

She refutes the charges and is set to embark on a legal fight to resist the attempts to have her returned Spain.

Anwar says she views the charges - which could attract a jail term of up to 30 years - as "political persecution" and believes that her human rights cannot be guaranteed in Spain.