He European Parliament is examining the request for amparo submitted by the Junts MEP Clara Ponsati after being arrested in Barcelona, a few hours after having returned to Catalonia after five years abroad. The ‘former minister’ of Ensenyament has appealed to her immunity as a member of the European Parliament, whose president, Roberta Metsolahas asked him to act in defense of his rights and against what he considers an “illegal detention”.
Sources from the European Parliament have confirmed to EL PERIÓDICO that they have received Ponsatí’s request and have assured that they are examining “all the Legal issues surrounding this case”. “Any action will only be guided by this consideration and nothing else”, added the aforementioned sources.
Ponsatí has informed the rest of the MEPs of his arrest in Barcelona with an ’email’ in which he warns them that if they are reading that message it is because it has been “illegally detained”, and asks them to show their rejection of such an arrest. “If you are reading this email, it means that I have been illegally detained in Barcelona, in violation of my immunity as a member of this Parliament,” begins the message sent by Ponsatí.
In his explanation, Ponsatí assures that he traveled to Barcelona to participate in an event at his local office but that he was counting on returning in time to attend this Wednesday the start of the plenary session that the European Parliament will hold for two days in Brussels.
For this reason, he maintains that his arrest in Barcelona will prevent him from exercising his functions as a deputy and violates its European parliamentary immunity to move to the meeting place of the Eurochamber the “fundamental right” of “political participation” that assists both her and her constituents.
“Contempt” for rights
The pro-independence policy states that the arrest warrant issued by the Supreme Court magistrate Pablo Llarena against her “is breaching” the order of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that provisionally restored her immunity as a MEP while the lawsuit, still pending resolution, is being resolved, on the decision of the European Parliament to approve the request issued against she.
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“My arrest demonstrates the contempt of the Spanish authorities for European law, European courts and fundamental rights. A contempt that will only grow until the European institutions pay serious attention and decisive action is taken,” he added.
Finally, the former minister urges the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to “defend” her parliamentary immunity and asks the rest of the MEPs “to express their opposition to such a violation of rights and to work to prevent the Spanish authorities from continuing to erode the State of right”.