Any day soon

Puigdemont, and three other former councillors went into exile in Belgium.

A European arrest warrant was issued for all of them but was later retracted.

Professor Ponsati returned to St Andrews University in March 2018, just two weeks before Spain’s Supreme Court issued another arrest warrant before that too was withdrawn.

“They were open to me coming back to do my job with no reservations,” she said of St Andrews University.

“When the arrest issue was made public they worked on the presumption of innocence.”

With a protest due to be held by activists in Glasgow’s George Square today demanding the release of all Catalan political prisoners, she acknowledges that comparisons are often drawn between Catalonia and the case for Scottish independence.

“There are certain comparisons,” she says, admitting that while she has a lot of respect for the UK and its institutions, the main difference is that the Spanish debate has descended into violence by the authorities.

But despite the current crackdown by Madrid, she believes the “democratic revolution” currently taking place in Catalonia will inevitably lead to self-rule – “probably within the next few years” because Madrid has “lost the hearts of the Catalans”.

She would like to see an independent Catalonia become a member of a reformed European Union that is “more democratic and more respectful of small nationalities within the union.”

This week, as political unrest continues around Europe, she said protesters must be clear in their aims with “peace, amnesty and selfdetermination” at their heart.

Top: Catalan proindependence demonstrators gather in front of the Spanish regional government office in Barcelona. Above: A pro Catalonia independence woman covers her mouth with tape at a protest in Brussels and a protester wears a Joker mask. Pictures: PA.