The investigating judge in Tarragona's Court number 6 has withdrawn the arrest warrant for CUP deputy Laia Estrada. In a ruling yesterday, less than 24 hours after issuing the arrest warrant, the judge left it without effect in the face of a conflict of competencies between the court and the High Court of Catalonia (TSJC). Estrada had asserted that she would not appear voluntarily for a judicial process that she called "a complete fantasy". She wanted to highlight that "3,000 Catalans face similar retaliation."
Estrada's status as an MP, a position to which she was elected in February's elections, means that her case has to be raised to the TSJC, but the investigating judge maintains that it is her court who must close the investigative phase of the case. Nevertheless, the competencies are now divided, and as long as the TSJC does not state that the procedures it receives have to include the testimony of Laia Estrada as a person investigated, the Tarragona judge rejects, for the time being, the possibility of forcing her to appear in court through an arrest.
Moments after being informed of the news, Estrada announced it on Twitter. "My arrest has been revoked. If I weren’t an MP I would have spent the night in the cells! Thanks for all the support! I will still not appear voluntarily to denounce the criminalization of protest and will not normalize the repressive barbarism against 3000 pro-independence activists!" she wrote.
This morning she had reiterated that her refusal to appear was intended to draw attention to "policies of repression that affect many people", from both "the Spanish state and the Catalan authorities", rather than being connected to the fact that she was an MP. In fact, Laia Estrada had not been elected to Parliament on the occasions when she failed to appear in court. “I knew perfectly well what the consequences were,” she added.
The speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Laura Borràs, has activated the legal service to have an official certification as Estrada is a Member of Parliament. The president recalled that article 22 of the regulations of the Catalan legislative chamber "recognizes her immunity". She added: "It stipulates that during their term of office deputies cannot be arrested unless it is in the case of a flagrant crime."
Estrada is accused of public disorder in a demonstration held on December 21st, 2018, the day the Spanish government held a special cabinet meeting in Barcelona, in a tense atmosphere with massive protests and 9,000 police taking part in the security operation. The MP was called to testify on the matter in the courts of Tarragona on December 30th, 2020 and January 21st, 2021, but did not appear, which is why the judge issued the arrest warrant yesterday.
Estrada was not present in Barcelona that day, but took part in a demonstration in Tarragona. She told the press yesterday: "Basically, we dedicated ourselves to walking a lot. There was no type of disorder, and no type of violence. In the CUP, we have decided not to appear voluntarily for judicial processes that reach us from the state which are complete fantasies."