Catalan president in exile and MEP, Carles Puigdemont, has asked the General Court of the European Union (EGC) this Friday to restore his parliamentary immunity as an interim measure in order to avoid a new arrest like the one that took place on September 23rd in Sardinia. This step had already been announced by president Puigdemont's lawyers and the procedure has been formalized this Friday.
This is the second time that the MEP has asked the EGC for protection. On the first occasion, the court returned his immunity as an urgent interim measure on 2nd June; then, a few weeks later, the EGC considered it unnecessary to maintain the interim immunity status because it understood that the extradition procedure had been suspended and that the president was not at risk of being arrested or extradited.
With risk of arrest, interim measures could return
Although the EGC ruled on July 30th to withdraw the urgent interim measures on MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, the European judges opened the door at that point to reconsidering the granting of interim measures for the three MEPs in the event of new European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) to avoid the risk of them being arrested.
Despite this decision, Carles Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, asserted that the president and ministers Comín and Ponsatí have maintained their parliamentary immunity precisely because the court understood that there was no risk of arrest or extradition.
In a thread on Twitter, Boye confirmed that they have submitted the request for these interim measures: "As we announced on Saturday 25th, and having verified that there is no will on the part of judge Llarena to guarantee the rights of MEPs Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí, today we have presented a request for interim measures" - clarifying that they are not "urgent interim measures". The lawyer continues the thread, explaining that "this request, due to its processing and duration, does not affect the hearing scheduled for this coming Monday before the Italian courts, although it should be conveyed to both the European Parliament and the Kingdom of Spain for them to rule on the matter".
Finally, Boye recalls that "on the previous occasion that we asked for these measures, Spain indicated that there was no risk of arrest, which has proved to be incorrect in light of what happened last week in the Sardinian city of L'Alguer and the communication issued yesterday by judge Llarena".
In a press release, the EU General Court has reported that it has received from its secretariat "a new request for interim measures":
This demand has been registered with the name "Case T-272/21 RII, Puigdemont i Casamajó and others / Parliament".
Main image: Catalan president in exile Carles Puigdemont, at the Adifolk International gathering last weekend in L'Alguer, in Sardinia. ACN.