Catalan ex-vice president, three others to remain in jail
MADRID: Catalonia’s sacked vice-president and three other separatist leaders will remain in prison pending a probe over their role in the region’s independence drive, a Supreme Court judge decided yesterday.
Oriol Junqueras, who was sacked as vice-president when the Catalan parliament declared independence on Oct 27, Joaquim Forn, who used to be in charge of interior matters in Catalonia, and the leaders of two proindependence associations will stay in prison, the court said.
Six other former ministers who were also remanded in custody will be released on bail as an investigation into charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds continues, it added in a statement.
Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena, who had taken on their case late last month, said he believed there was a risk that Junqueras and the three others would repeat their alleged offences.
This, he added, meant there was a “possibility that acts could happen again with serious, immediate and irreparable consequences for the community.”
He noted as an example a demonstration in Barcelona in September called when police raided a building in a probe into the upcoming banned referendum.
The protest saw angry demonstrators gather outside the building in the city centre late into the night, trapping police inside for hours.
Independence supporters had hoped that all 10 leaders would be released yesterday just as the official campaign for Catalan elections on Dec 21 is due to kick off at midnight.
No matter what, they will be (in Brussels) till at least Dec 21 and according to my calculations this could go on till midJanuary.
The decision came as Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont arrived yesterday for an extradition hearing in Belgium as Spain seeks to have him sent back to face sedition charges over his region’s independence drive.
A judge sitting behind closed doors in Brussels will hear from lawyers for Puigdemont and four of his former ministers, who all fled to Belgium in October despite a summons to appear in court in Spain, claiming they would not get a fair trial.
Prosecutors last month asked the judge to approve the European arrest warrant issued by Madrid for the five in the opening round of what could become a protracted courtroom battle.
Puigdemont’s lawyer said at the weekend he will remain in Belgium until after the elections.
“No matter what, they will be (in Brussels) till at least Dec 21 and according to my calculations this could go on till mid-January,” lawyer Jaume Alonso Cuevillas told Catalan radio Rac1, referring to Puigdemont and the four former ministers.
“I am convinced that no matter what happens they will have recourse to an appeal,” the lawyer said.
Spanish prosecutors want to prosecute Puigdemont and his former ministers for rebellion — which carries a maximum 30year jail sentence — and sedition for their role in the independence drive, as well as for misusing public funds.– AFP
Jaume Alonso Cuevillas, lawyer