The decision by the Scottish justice system to close the case for the extradition of Clara Ponsatí, requested by Spain’s Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, adds another notch to the pro-independence movement’s score in the battle against the Spanish justice system. Although the Edinburgh court's decision is based on a simple procedural issue, the fact that Ponsatí currently resides in Belgium —something Llarena already knew, even though he was keeping the extradition process alive—, it is still a handicap, as the Supreme Court judge will have to initiate a new procedure to activate another European arrest warrant when he can.
And he may not be able to do so for some time, as Llarena tied himself up when it comes to requesting new European arrest warrants. Until the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based in Luxembourg, replies to some preliminary questions that he himself requested when the Brussels court refused to hand over minister Lluís Puig to Spain, he will not be able to request a new one. With these preliminary rulings requested to the CJEU, Llarena sought, above all, to gain time, since the defeat he suffered with the denial of the extradition of Puig is the prelude to those that will come with the ones pertaining to president Carles Puigdemont and minister Toni Comín.
The CJEU agreed to process Llarena's preliminary rulings through ordinary channels and set a time period in which the European arrest warrants are not in force. Therefore, the mobility of the exiled pro-independence leaders is absolute at the moment, if we exclude Spain, where European justice seems to have no value whatsoever. On the contrary, Spain’s Supreme Court acts with impunity, unjustly, and without any European reprisal. This summer, all the exiled leaders were able to come to Northern Catalonia to enjoy their holidays, and the attitude of the French police has been, essentially, one of logistical support for their security.
Be it for whatever reason, seeing time and again how the Spanish justice system’s actions —carried out in their own interest with deviant interpretations of the laws, and the sole aim of pursuing and deactivating Catalan independence— which triumph in Spain, end up in defeat every time they cross the border, never fails to be satisfying.
That is why it is so necessary for the Catalan cause to reach outside its borders. It is the only guarantee of a fair trial and also the best option for highlighting what has been done in recent years in Spain to the pro-independence leaders.