When the ‘expresident’ of the Generalitat Carlos Puigdemont decided in November 2017 that it was better to flee Spain than to go to the summons of the then judge of the National Court carmen lamelaPerhaps he was not aware that five years later he would still not be able to return to Spain. Hence, according to sources around him, the former head of the Government is willing to do so, as soon as he sees that circumstances are favorable although they are not even definitive or optimal for your interests. He trusts to do it, as from the first moment, in European justice.
And it has not gone bad. At least in the most critical moments that he has experienced in his particular odyssey: the two arrests that he has suffered since his departure abroad as a result of the Euro-warrants issued against him by the Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, instructor of the cause of ‘process‘.
The first arrest was in Germany, in March 2018, in the middle of Holy Week, when, confident of the freedom of movement that he enjoyed in Belgium, he traveled by car to participate in a conference in Finland. Despite the days he spent behind bars, the episode ended the first serious setback suffered by Spanish justice as a result of the crime of rebellion who then imputed those responsible for the 1-O referendum.
Germany was only willing to hand over embezzlement of public funds and Llarena refused to accept it under those conditions, since those who had remained at the disposal of the Spanish justice system were also accused of rebellion and Puigdemont was nothing less than the main person responsible for what happened. The Supreme Court ended up condemning the rest of the leaders of the consultation for sedition in competition with embezzlement, which are the crimes that the former president is accused of, at least until the legislative reform with which he said goodbye to 2022 and the high court comes into force determine how it should be applied to both those on the run and those who were sentenced.
The second arrest was much more recent. Occurred in September 2021, in Sardiniaand it served for the European justice to provisionally restore the immunity that he enjoys as a member of the European Parliament, a guarantee that had been lifted precisely as a result of the granting of the request processed by Llarena to the European Parliament to be able to act against Puigdemont if he moved around Europe.
Immunity
It was precisely this immunity that was the protagonist of the last hearings that have been held before the General Court of the European Union. At the end of last November, the Luxembourg-based court studied the two lawsuits filed by Puigdemont himself against the decision of the European Parliament to lift his immunity, by granting the Spanish request. The argument of the representation of the ‘expresident’, exercised by the lawyer Gonzalo Boyeit happened because the Chamber had not sufficiently defended him against the investigation of the Supreme Court.
For hours the judges questioned about the immunity that gives him a seat that for the Spanish authorities should not havesince he did not go in person to Congress to swear or promise the Constitution, not even to abide by it “by legal imperative & rdquor;, according to the formula chosen by the pro-independence deputies and senators. This point was used by the representative of the European Parliament during the hearings to demonstrate the generosity with which the Chamber had acted with him and to oppose his demands.
The article was also discussed European regulation by which the authorization to investigate him was granted, to determine if It affected Spain or only the European countries through which it transitedand if the Euro-orders could be made before the grant of the request or if this was necessary or not, having acquired the status of MEP after being prosecuted in Spain.
The Spanish representation maintained this line, which insisted that If Puigdemont returns to Spain, justice may act against him regardless of the immunity that was raised with the request, because the processing of a Eurowarrant would not be necessary for his arrest and, in addition, it would be the criminal procedure prior to the acquisition of the seat.
Related news
According to sources around the ‘expresident’, his return to Catalonia will depend on the decision adopted by the European justice both in their demands and in relation to the preliminary questions with which Llarena asked the Court of Justice of the European Union on Eurowarrants. This ruling is expected to be announced on January 31. The proposal of the General Advocate of the EU Jean Richard de la Tour was in favor of rejecting that a country can deny a delivery except in case of systemic violation of rights, which does not happen in Spain.
The General Court will resolve the lawsuits against the European Parliament, foreseeably in February. If he agrees with Puigdemont, he intends to return to Catalonia, even at the risk of being arrested. If not, it will appeal the sentences before the CJUE, which acts as a second instance, whose ruling is now final. His environment trusts that the European Parliament, on the other hand, will not appeal the ruling even if it is unfavorable.