CLARA Ponsati, the St Andrews academic who is fighting extradition to Spain, will become a member of the European Parliament as a result of Brexit and therefore be granted immunity, her legal team has argued.
The former Catalan education minister attended a further procedural hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday as she continued to fight a European arrest warrant (EAW) issued by Spain accusing her of sedition over her role in Catalonia independence referendum in 2017, which Spain declared illegal.
A group of supporters waving Catalan flags gathered outside the court as her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, presented a provisional witness list containing the names of Spanish politicians – including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – he intends to bring to court.
READ MORE: Spain's prime minister called to attend Ponsati trial
The sheriff set a date of March 5 for legal arguments about the competency of the warrant and issues around dual criminality, which relate to whether sedition is an offence in law in both countries. A full hearing could start on May 11.
Speaking outside the court, Anwar said Brexit will lead to Ponsati becoming a MEP, when Spain gains five more seats in the European Parliament post-Brexit – she is third on the Spanish “list” of MEPs-in-waiting. He said: “When the UK leaves the European Parliament on January 31 its MEPs will lose their seats. At present, Spain is set to be awarded five extra seats. If that is so, Clara Ponsati is on the list to be one of the five MEPs and will become a MEP shortly after January 31 and therefore she will have immunity.
“The Spanish authorities ought to withdraw the warrant against Clara if and when she becomes immune – this is not likely to happen.
“When Clara becomes a MEP an assessment will be required to be carried out as to how it will affect the warrant proceedings – especially if once again Spain shows no respect for the rule of international law.”
Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and ex-minister Toni Comin (below), who are in exile in Belgium and also have outstanding EAWs, have already taken their seats in Europe, but the parliament is considering a petition from Spanish authorities to waive their immunity.
Anwar argued that because sedition was abolished in the UK the extradition attempt is not legal.
“The actions of Clara did not constitute a criminal offence – either in national or international law, nor would it be considered criminal in civilised nations.
“Spain has misused state power and Spain has abused the process of the European arrest warrant to seek the extradition of Clara for political purposes, rather than the prosecution of crime.
“Clara is determined to take on the Spanish state and to expose the injustice at its heart.”
The lawyer said the allegations in the EAW are not extradition offences and the Crown had contended, using the doctrine of dual criminality, that if carried out in Scotland, the behaviour in the warrant would amount to the crime of treason.
He said because the crime of sedition was abolished in 2011, “those archaic offences” were redundant and unnecessarily limited freedom of speech: “When the UK Parliament abolished sedition it sent a powerful signal to states around the world that routinely use such laws to imprison their critics and silence dissent.
“The warrant does not set out a fair and accurate representation of the events of September and October 2017. For example it fails to note the injury to thousands of peaceful protesters and fails to note the international condemnation of excessive use of force by the Spanish Civil Guard and National Police Officers.”
He said Ponsati would not receive a fair trial in Spain, and added: “We submit that the extradition is barred because the warrant was issued for the purpose of prosecuting and punishing Clara for her support for Catalan self-determination.”
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