The Prosecutor’s Office has once again requested that the investigating judge of the case of the process Pablo Llarena agree to the search and capture and imprisonment of Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comín and that an international search and capture order be issued in case it were necessary to process an extradition request, as well as a European arrest and surrender order with respect to the two accused for embezzlement and disobedience.
This request follows the ruling of the General Court of the European Union on July 5, 2023, which withdraws the immunity of both MEPs.
The former president of the Generalitat has been ironic with the decision of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office. “One day you are decisive in making a government in Spain, the next day Spain orders your arrest,” Puigdemont assured in a message on Twitter where he shared the information about the request for new Euro-warrants.
According to the thesis of the Prosecutor’s Office, although this sentence can be appealed in cassation before the Court of Justice of the Union, the appeal has no suspensive effect, so taking into account the personal situation of both – fled from justice and in absentia – “it is appropriate to once again issue international and European arrest warrants with respect to both prosecuted for the crimes specified in the order of January 12, 2023”.
The Public Prosecutor also recalls that the acts constituting embezzlement in its aggravated modality carry custodial sentences that, given the high amount of the embezzled funds, may be between 6 and 12 years in prison.
The letter from the Prosecutor’s Office comes one day after the general elections. According to the first estimates, the PSOE could once again try to form a government with the support of various groups, including Junts. “One day you are decisive in forming a Spanish government, the next day Spain orders your arrest,” Puigdemont said in a message in English on his Twitter account.
Now it is in the hands of Pablo Llarena to decide whether to reactivate the OEDs after withdrawing them when he raised a preliminary ruling before the CJEU.
At the same time, Puigdemont appealed to the European courts against the decision of the European Parliament to withdraw his immunity to be tried in Spain for the crime of sedition, a decision that the TGUE has confirmed.
Llarena was waiting for the European conflict to be resolved before deciding whether to reactivate the arrest warrants. At the same time, in January he had to modify the indictments and withdraw the crime of sedition as it had been repealed and for what now the investigator has established embezzlement of public funds and disobedience as crimes.
Once the OEDs are reactivated, the Belgian justice (country where the former Catalan president currently resides) must restart the process of handing over to Spain for prosecution.
