Scottish extradition case against Catalan ex-minister in July
EDINBURGH: A full hearing in Scotland of Spain’s extradition case against former Catalan education minister Clara Ponsati will take place in July, when she will argue that the charges against her for helping organise a Catalan independence referendum are unfounded, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Ponsati, 61, a professor at Scotland’s University of St Andrews, is one of several former leaders of Catalonia’s regional government being sought by Spain in different European countries for alleged violent rebellion and embezzlement.
The charges are linked to the organisation of an independence referendum aimed at splitting the wealthy northeastern region from Spain last October, illegal under a constitution which only recognises Spain itself as a nation. Ponsati’s lawyers will argue her rights cannot be guaranteed in Spain, because her politics jar with the Madrid government.
Spain’s government denies this and has argued that Catalan leaders knew the law and its consequences before they set up the banned vote.
Sheriff Nigel Ross, who oversaw a preliminary hearing on Thursday, said the case involved a complex examination of evidence as well as overlaps with a foreign jurisdiction. It will now go to a full, two-week hearing on July 30, with more preliminary hearings set for May 15 and July 5.