European justice lifts immunity of Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont

On Wednesday 5 July, the General Court of the European Union rejected Carles Puigdemont's appeal against the lifting of his immunity by the European Parliament. A setback for the Catalan separatist in the judicial saga opened since the failure of the attempt to secede from Catalonia.

Catalan MEPs Antoni Comin, Carles Puigdemont, Clara Ponsati and lawyer Gonzalo Boye at a joint press conference regarding their immunity at the European Parliament, 5 July 2023. REUTERS - YVES HERMAN

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It is a setback for Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain in 2017 to escape prosecution and is based in Belgium. The Catalan separatist immediately announced on Twitter that he would appeal this decision of the General Court of the European Union to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The court's decision also concerns Clara Ponsati and Toni Comin, MEPs like Carles Puigdemont and former members of his regional government. All are in the crosshairs of the Spanish justice for their role in the attempted secession of Catalonia in October 2017, one of the worst political crises experienced by Spain since the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1975. The pro-independence government of Carles Puigdemont had organized a referendum on self-determination, banned by the courts, before the local parliament unilaterally declared the independence of the region.

They asked the EU General Court to annul the waiver of their immunity by the European Parliament at the request of the Spanish courts. After summary proceedings related to the appeal brought in the summer of 2021, the court established in Luxembourg ruled this time on the merits.

In his decision, he notably rejects the argument of the alleged violation by the European Parliament of the principle of impartiality, which was brandished by the Catalan separatists. "The Tribunal rejects all the pleas put forward by the three MPs, including their arguments that Parliament erred in concluding that the legal proceedings in question were not initiated with the intention of harming the Members' activity," he said in a statement.

« It's not over »

The court also considers that, in order to rule on the requests for waiver of immunity submitted by the Spanish courts, the European Parliament was "not required to examine the legality of Spanish judicial documents". "This issue is indeed the sole competence of the national authorities," the body says.

«

This is not over. On the contrary, it continues. We will present an appeal" to the Court of Justice of the EU "and we will defend to the end our fundamental rights," Carles Puigdemont reacted on Twitter.

The Spanish Supreme Court has been requesting the extradition of Carles Puigdemont since 2017 but the Belgian justice has never given a definitive green light to his requests, in particular because of problems of equivalence of the charges in the respective national laws.

Carles Puigdemont is being prosecuted in Spain for embezzlement of public funds and disobedience. In January, the Spanish judiciary had to drop its sedition charges, which could have cost him a much heavier sentence if he is ever tried, after a reform of the Penal Code abolishing this offense. This controversial reform of the government of Socialist Pedro Sanchez was intended to give pledges to the Catalan separatist movement, some of which support the executive.

(

With AFP)

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