High court prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Puigdemont

A Spanish high court prosecutor has requested an international arrest warrant for ousted Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, and his ministers Clara Ponsatí, Meritxell Serret, Antoni Comin and Lluís Puig. The request was issued after the deposed president and his former ministers failed to answer a summons to Spain’s national high court on Thursday to answer charges of rebellion, sedition and the misuse of public funds.

The prosecutor justified the warrant for Puigdemont after “repeated attempts to deliver the summons to his home, along with repeated telephone calls that were ignored.” What’s more, the prosecutor points out that Puigdemont, Comin and Serret have already publicly said they will not appear in court in person, asking to testify by video conference, a request that was refused on the basis that there is no reason to justify their absence.

The deposed president and his ministers remain in Brussels, where they fled following the implementation of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and the imposition of direct rule from Madrid. In a news conference on Tuesday, Puigdemont denied he was in Brussels to seek political asylum but was looking for the “freedom and safety” to continue working. News of the arrest warrants came as prosecutors asked the national court to jail eight ex-members of the deposed Catalan government. The judge has yet to decide on the request.

A “violation of human and fundamental rights”

Meanwhile, Puigdemont’s lawyer in Belgium said the climate in Spain was “not good” and that his client wanted to maintain some distance, even though he would cooperate with the courts. Talking to Catalan broadcaster TV3, lawyer Paul Bekaert said on Thursday that the president’s defense would be based on a “violation of human and fundamental rights.”

Admitting “it will not be easy” to keep Puigdemont in Belgium once an international arrest warrant is issued, Bekaert said the “only possibility” would be to show that his client’s human rights are at risk. “One of the arguments that could be used is that 30 years in prison is a disproportionate penalty for organizing a peaceful referendum.”

Bekaert also pointed out that up to two months could go by before the Belgian authorities act on the warrant and bring Puigdemont before a Belgian court. What’s more, “the arrest is not legally obligatory” the lawyer told TV3: “It could be carried out as part of an investigation and is not obligatory either in Belgium or in Spain,” said Bekaert.