After we were appropriately informed by judge Pablo Llarena that the position of the Supreme Court, to be spelt out in the new extradition orders for exiled Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and ministers Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, would consist of turning its back on the reform of the Penal Code and applying the prison sentence of up to 12 years that already existed in the previous version, and not the one-to-four year prison option in the current one, it was the prosecutors' turn this Wednesday. There was interest in knowing whether the four prosecutors in the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court in the independence process trial - Javier Zaragoza, Consuelo Madrigal, Jaime Moreno and Fidel Cadena - would share Llarena's interpretation, taking into account the chain of command that exists in the public prosecution service which, by hierarchy, is headed by the chief public prosecutor, Álvaro García Ortiz, 56 years old, a senior member of his profession since 2021 and, since last August, the highest authority in the Spanish prosecution service. A resume lacking the pedigree of the patas negras of the Supreme Court, such as Zaragoza himself, a senior prosecutor since 2005 and chief prosecutor at the National Audience court between 2006 and 2017.
You can be sure that the brief submitted by the Supreme Court prosecutors has not disappointed its audience: it accepts as correct Llarena's bizarre interpretation of the misuse of funds law and also disagrees with the Supreme Court judge's view that Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí should not be charged with the crime of aggravated public disorder. The prosecutors allege that, with the crime of sedition having disappeared, the aggravated disorder charge is what should be applied to them, with its penalty of between three and five years' imprisonment and a ban on holding public office for the same period, when committed by a crowd whose number, organization and purpose are well suited to seriously affecting public order. In the event that the authors of the crime are constituted in authority - which is the case - the ban on office holding will be for a period of six to eight years. And what is the result of this interpretation by the prosecutors? Well, if we add up the 12 years for misuse of funds and the five for aggravated public disorder, we could be faced with a demand from the prosecutor's office for up to 17 years in prison for president Puigdemont.
Welcome to the real world and the sleight of hand of Pedro Sánchez. He offered a modification of the Penal Code, acquired a parliamentary majority to push it through and now we are facing - hopefully it won't end like this - something almost identical to that quote uttered by Catalan president Jordi Pujol when negotiations began on a new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the president Pasqual Maragall in the Generalitat. "Take care that we don't end up shooting ourselves in the foot", he said, and he was not out of place in his warning once the 2010 Constitutional Court ruling appeared. The Supreme Court prosecutors' brief has endorsement from the prosecution service's top hierarchy and silence from the Spanish government and the prime minister. Knowing Pedro Sánchez, who always gambles on the opposite of what he promises; it is very likely that, at the moment, he is shrugging his shoulders in front of those who demand explanations from him and will limit himself to saying that he has now done everything he could.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings and to point out that, with respect to judge Llarena and the Supreme Court prosecutors, you could see it coming. You didn't need inside information, just a minimal understanding of the functioning of the Spanish state. Someone said to me this Wednesday: but how can the justice system do this to Pedro Sánchez? I don't have an answer, although I think the question is poorly worded. The reality is that the Spanish government has lost control of the reform of the Penal Code after it passed through the houses of parliament, and the Supreme Court judges were always clear that Sánchez would not be allowed to play them for fools by amending their sentence through the back door. They would defend their judgment no matter what, he would act in the way that the political and media powers of Madrid expect, and, in so doing, would show that they are the ones in charge: the judiciary, not the executive or the legislature.
And Sánchez, having carried out the reform with the left, may in reality be desperate for history to remember him as the prime minister who succeeded in handing over Puigdemont. Who knows? In his weakened state, he must be willing to do whatever it takes to win an election.