Pro-catalan politician defies court summons

A leading Catalan politician has vowed to carry on advocating for Catalan independence from her existing base in Switzerland where she is evading a Spanish judicial probe for her role in last year’s illegal secession attempt.

Anna Gabriel, the leader of the anti-establishment Popular Unity Candidature known as CUP, said the Spanish Supreme Court probe was politically motivated and she would be more useful to her party in Geneva than “behind bars”.

“I will not go to Madrid,” she said. “Since I will not have a fair trial at home, I have looked for a country that can protect my rights.”

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and four members of his former cabinet also ignored a court summon late last year and are in Belgium.

Spanish authorities initially sought Mr Puigdemont’s extradition, but later dropped the arrest warrant, saying they were looking to wrap the investigation up before seeking his return.