Spain: Supreme Court maintains arrest warrant for Puigdemont
Judge Liarena rejected the application of amnesty for misappropriation of public funds. The arrest warrants for Puigdemont and Comín remain in force.
Judge Liarena rejects amnesty and order to lift warrants in 'procés' case
Spain's Supreme Court has refused to apply amnesty to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont for the crime of misappropriation of public funds within the framework of the 'procés' case, according to reports from gr.euronews.com. The court has also maintained in force the national arrest warrant against him, as well as the one against former Catalan minister Antoni Comín.
The investigating judge in the case, judge Pablo Liarena, rejected the application filed by Puigdemont following the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling on 16 July. The same ruling applies to Comín, according to an announcement from the office of Poder Judicial.
Liarena had already rejected in July 2024 the application of the amnesty law to the charge of misappropriation, citing two grounds: the alleged intention to obtain personal financial benefit and the assessment that the facts affected the financial interests of the European Union.
In his new ruling, the investigating judge acknowledges that the CJEU decision prevents the retention of the second of these grounds. The European court ruled that the separation of part of the territory of a member state could not, in itself, affect the financial interests of the EU.
However, Liarena considers that the European ruling does not change the first reasoning: the alleged intention to obtain personal financial benefit. The ruling explicitly notes that the new application was not rejected because the CJEU's interpretation lacks significance, but because its consequences do not touch upon the ground on which the rejection of amnesty was ultimately based.
The investigating judge also notes that previous rulings by Spain's Constitutional Court regarding the amnesty law have not specifically judged its application in this case. He adds that the outcome of appeals still pending before the Constitutional Court cannot be prejudged.
Liarena also rejects the application to lift the national arrest warrants against Puigdemont and Comín. The defence had requested the lifting of the measure citing possible dismissal of the case, application of amnesty, or violation of the 'ne bis in idem' principle, which prohibits double jeopardy for the same factual circumstances. The defence argued that there is already a related procedure for accounting liability before the Court of Accounts.
The judge clarifies, however, that his ruling does not mean that the interim measures are not subject to review. The ruling leaves open the possibility of reconsideration if new circumstances arise, limiting itself to rejecting the lifting based on the arguments put forward on this occasion.
Applications to transfer the case to the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia or to the courts in Barcelona are also rejected.
The national arrest warrants against Puigdemont and Comín continue to be in force, which means that both can be detained if they enter Spanish territory. The 'procés' case concerns the Catalan independence movement which peaked with the referendum and the unilateral declaration of independence in 2017.
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)