The independence movement has its sights set on the decision of the European justice that will be announced this Wednesday on the immunity of former president Carles Puigdemont. For the Supreme Court (TS), the position adopted by the General Court of the European Union (TGUE) means being one step closer to being able to sit it on the defendant’s bench. However, Puigdemont’s entourage believes that there is still a lot to play for and that this is not going to be more than another twist in the judicial labyrinth.
The TGUE will rule tomorrow on two aspects that have paralyzed the delivery of Puigdemont to the Spanish justice, which has been demanding him since he fled in October 2017 after the failed unilateral declaration of independence. On the one hand, he must decide on the lifting of immunity by the European Parliament, at the request of the investigating judge of the process, Pablo Llarena, in order to demand his delivery to Spain, as he is an MEP. And on the other hand, to rule on whether the procedures that were carried out to grant the request regarding Puigdemont to open criminal proceedings for sedition were correct.
The defense of the former president and former minister Toni Comín alleges that the European Parliament failed to comply with its obligation to give reasons “sufficiently and adequately”. In addition to the violation of various rights, he reiterates that it is a “political persecution against the Catalan independence leaders.”
However, what is ruled is not the last word because they can still appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union. In addition, within the defense strategy, it is not foreseen to assume what the TGUE dictates if it is not in its favor.
That is, they foresee several tricks. A priori, if the European courts endorsed the decisions adopted by the European Parliament, it would be time for the Belgian courts to decide on handing over Puigdemont to Spain. As a preliminary step, Llarena should reactivate the European arrest warrants to restart the delivery process in Belgium. For the TS, if Europe endorses the request and the lifting of immunity, the Belgian courts no longer have more room for maneuver to refuse to hand over Puigdemont, according to European cooperation.
But this battle is not that simple. Puigdemont’s defense believes that Llarena should request the petition to the European Parliament again, that is, restart the process, because it was agreed to be tried for the crime of sedition. Here starts the new mess. After this criminal offense was repealed, the investigator had to modify the indictment and lead the case against the fugitives for the crime of embezzlement of public funds in its aggravated version and for the crime of disobedience.
For the Supreme Court, the request granted is valid because the embezzlement was already collected in a mediation contest and disobedience was incorporated into sedition as one of the acts committed.
Meanwhile, it remains up in the air whether Puigdemont would return to Catalonia if he received the support of the TGUE without the risk of being arrested and imprisoned in Spain.
