Catalan president Torra seeks indyref2 advice

● Visitor speaks in support of former minister Ponsati on first Scottish trip

Catalan president Quim Torra yesterday said Catalonia could learn from Nicola Sturgeon’s drive for a second independe n c e r e f e r e n d u m wh e n h e made his first visit to Scotland.

Mr Torra said he would like to discuss how the S cottish Government could supp or t his attempts to break away from Spain at a press conference held before he met Ms Sturgeon in Bute House.

The Catalan president was a l s o i n S c o t l a n d to g ive h i s s u p p o r t f o r C l a r a Po n s a t i , a former minister from the region facing extradition for her involvement in the controversial Catalan independence referendum last year.

Professor Ponsati, an academic at St Andrews University, is being sought by the Spanish authorities on charges of violent rebellion and misap - propriation of funds.

She has always denied the charges against her. If convicted she could receive a jail term of up to 33 years. Yesterday her lawyer Aamar Anwar warned that if Professor Ponsati ended up in a Spanish jail she could be killed by the authorities or fellow prisoners.

B e f o r e h e a d i n g t o B u t e House, Mr Torra said this was the first time a Catalan president had met the First Minister of Scotland. He said: “This is the starting point for a relat i o n s h i p b e t we e n t h e t wo nations we want to continue in the future, two nations with a same goal - gaining independence for our countries.

“I think there is a long way to

0 Quim Torra meets Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House yesterday

work together. Maybe we can learn a lot about how the Scottish government is managing the idea of the second refere n du m. Mayb e we c a n d i scuss with the Scottish government about how they can give us support, give us initiatives for projects of how to resolve this political situation we have now in Catalonia.”

Mr Torra thanked the First M i n i s t e r f o r t h e s u p p o r t shown to Prof Ponsati.

Her c a s e wi l l b e h e a rd a t Edinburgh Sheriff Court this summer. The S cottish Government has stressed that it will not intervene in the judi-

cial process, although Ms Sturgeon has supported the right of Catalonians to self-determination.

Mr Anwar said: “We have a c o n c e r n t h a t i f C l a r a i s returned to a prison in Madrid that Spain cannot and will not guarantee her safety and she faces a rela threat to her life whether it be from the authorities or fellow prisoners.”

A j o i n t s t a t e m e n t i s s u e d after Mr Torra and Ms Sturgeon’s meeting said issues of self- determination must b e addressed through democratic referendums.

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