Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has reactivated the European Arrest Warrant against president Carles Puigdemont and the members of his government in exile. This is as he announced in February he would do once he closed the investigation phase to move to trial, as he did today. Today, after announcing the final charges those under investigation will face, the judge activated the warrants.
To ensure their extradition, besides rebellion, Llarena also prosecutes them for misuse of public funds, a crime recognised in the penal codes of the countries the exiles are in. He revoked his earlier warrants when it became apparent that Belgium might not extradite them on the charges of rebellion and sedition, the most serious they face. They can only be prosecuted for the charges they are extradited over, so they might end up only facing trial over misuse of public funds, unlike those already in prison in Spain, who would face the higher sentences associated with rebellion.
Besides Puigdemont, the ministers abroad are Toni Comín, Lluís Puig, Meritxell Serret and Clara Ponsatí. Marta Rovira, meanwhile, surprised by announcing this morning that she has also gone into exile, given the risk of being sent into pretrial detention. Not all of them are facing the charge of rebellion: Lluís Puig and Meritxell Serret are accused of misuse of public funds and disobedience.