Hours before the Catalan prisoners are moved from Catalan to Madrid prisons, the Spanish Supreme Court has taken its last decisions with respect to their release, namely denying it. The court alludes to the flight risk they pose, to the defence they are guaranteed despite being incarcerated and gets in a mess in explaining the existence of republican power structures abroad, a clear reference to the exiles and the Council of the Republic.
Everyone knows that the excuses offered by the Supreme Court are that: excuses. They can be justified by a dose of bad faith or by bending the Penal Code, but they don't hold water. Today, the flight risk is perfectly neutered by distance monitoring options or supervision out of prison. Whilst their release is more than justified, a supervised freedom is even more so. But there's more: several of the political prisoners (Parliament speaker Forcadell and ministers Turull, Rull, Romeva and Bassa) knew perfectly well when they returned to the Supreme Court to testify last March that they would be sent to prison. And they appeared before judge Pablo Llarena. The four ministers had appeared in November, they were imprisoned, released in December and appeared again in March knowing they were going back to prison. It's not acceptable that they should talk about flight risk with this attitude.
Second is the topic of preparing their defences. Pretrial detention doesn't only entail coming and going from the prison to the court (at least one hour each way with marathon days Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday) but also enormously reduces the time they have to prepare their defence and impedes the lawyers from doing their work in remotely normal conditions. Maybe it's also about that: adding the greatest difficulties possible to the unjust pretrial detention denounced by international NGOs. It would be good for the international observers be taking note of all these decisions.
The ruling denying their release has another factor which cannot be ignored. The claim they pose a flight risk is linked, and I quote, "to the organised power structures out of Spanish territory put at the service of those accused who have taken the decision to avoid the summons of this chamber". The House of the Republic in Waterloo therefore now for the Spanish state officially becomes an organised power structure abroad, with the ability to welcome exiles and proffer help to the accused. Of course, the Supreme Court isn't making anything up, but it remains strange the normality with which they explain it.
Perhaps Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell and the ostentatious head of Global Spain should take note that the Catalan House of the Republic is now in the Spanish state's atlas.