Carles Puigdemont, former president of Catalonia, was arrested in Italy | Following an arrest warrant issued by a judge of the Supreme Court of Spain

Former President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont has been arrested on the Italian island of Sardinia in an operation led by local security forces but promoted by an arrest warrant issued by the judge of the Supreme Court of Spain, Pablo Llarena. Puigdemont’s arrest is based on the cause of sedition due to the failure of the independence attempt of October 2017 and this happens a few days after the Spanish government and the regional executive of Catalonia started a process of dialogue in Barcelona.

The grounds for the arrest

Puigdemont is a member of the European Parliament but currently the privilege of immunity is suspended by a decision of the European Parliament. In July, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided to temporarily uphold the European Parliament’s decision while it decided the merits of the appeal brought by the former Catalan president.

Puigdemont and two other pro-independence MEPs, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, have been fugitives from Spanish justice for four years, after the celebration of the referendum on Catalan independence.

Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo boye, explained on his social networks that his client had been arrested on his arrival in Sardinia, where he was dating as an MEP and that this arrest “is based on the euro-ordinance of October 14, 2019 which, by legal imperative and as established by the statute of the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union), is suspended”.

For his part, the chief of staff of the former president, Josep Lluís Alay, reported that Puigdemont had traveled to L’Alguer to attend the international Adifolk meeting, an event sponsored by an association for the promotion of Catalan folklore. He also planned to meet the president of the autonomous region of Sardinia, as well as the mediator of L’Alguer.

“When he arrived at Alghero airport, he was arrested by the Italian border police. Tomorrow, early in the morning, it will be made available to the judges of the Sassari Court of Appeal, which is competent to decide on his release or extradition, ”reported the former president’s cabinet. The Italian judicial authority must communicate the arrest to the Spanish Supreme Court and proceedings will be initiated to see whether or not Italy is collaborating in the case. .

The judicial situation of Puigdemont

This is not the first time that Puigdemont has been arrested. He was also arrested in March 2018 while driving through Germany and even spent twelve days in Neumünster prison so that later the German court in Schleswig-Holstein rejected his surrender to the Spain accused of a crime of rebellion. It remains to be seen whether on this occasion the Italian authorities decide on its delivery and under what conditions.

In the event of final surrender to the Spanish authorities, Puigdemont awaits trial before the Supreme Court. In 2018, he was prosecuted for rebellion and embezzlement along with the rest of the pro-independence leaders and if he is handed over, he will stand trial. The scene has changed slightly in recent years: the conviction of the Supreme Court is for a crime of sedition and not of rebellion, as requested by the prosecution at first.

In recent years, Puigdemont’s fight and his defense have been to transfer the case to international courts and those of other countries., for example to obtain that the German justice reject the accusations of rebellion or that the Belgian justice annul the surrender of the former municipal councilor Lluís Puig.

Dialogue attempt

A few days ago, the government of Pedro Sánchez and the executive of Catalonia opened a dialogue table after years of disagreements and tensions. The most critical moment came in 2017, after a referendum was held which was declared unconstitutional on October 1 and a subsequent declaration of independence approved by the Catalan Parliament on October 27.

These events led to the temporary suspension of the Catalan Executive, the prosecution and subsequent conviction of 9 to 13 years in prison to nine recently pardoned independence leaders, as well as the flight of then Catalan President Puigdemont and other members of his executive to escape Spanish justice.

The arrival in the Spanish government of the Socialists, in coalition with United We Can, and the assumption of responsibility of Pere Aragonès at the head of the Catalan executive signified the beginning of the first contacts to reduce the tension. There is also the fact that the Esquerra Republicana de Cataluña (ERC), the Aragonès party, is one of the parliamentary groups that regularly support the Spanish government in Congress, where the deputies of the ruling coalition do not reach not the majority.