The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Students take to the streets in support of Fife professor
Extradition move is purely political – statement
Students in St Andrews have staged a second protest to show support for former Catalan minister Professor Clara Ponsati.
Dozens gathered outside the Student’s Association in the town yesterday evening after the Spanish academic was arrested last week.
Prof Ponsati handed herself in to Police Scotland on Wednesday after a European Arrest Warrant was granted against her.
She is accused of “violent rebellion and misappropriation of public funds” in relation to her role in Catalonia’s independence referendum last October.
The professor, who is the director of economics and finance at St Andrews University, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was granted bail.
She is set to fight the extradition order and more than £220,000 has already been raised to help fund her legal battle.
A statement from the St Andrews Students in Support of Clara Ponsati organisation said: “Students at the University of St Andrews are working together to support Professor Clara Ponsati ... who has been charged with rebellion by the Spanish state for her role in the Catalan independence movement.
“We believe that the crimes Professor Ponsati has been accused of are politically motivated. Should she be extradited she is likely to suffer inhumane treatment, whilst the independence of the judiciary in Spain cannot be guaranteed.
“Under these grounds the British judiciary is legally and rightly able to reject the warrant for her arrest.”
She faces up to 30 years in prison if extradited and prosecuted in Spain.
A St Andrews University spokesman said last night: “Our primary responsibility to Clara is as her employer, and in that capacity we are committed to protect and help her.
“As her employer, we are also a university that champions freedom of speech and the rights of individuals to express their views, even when those views are controversial and challenging to the status quo.
“In supporting Clara we are reflecting what we regard as justified questions about the motivations behind the proposed use of extradition measures in her case.”