The Constitutional Court of Spain has confirmed the validity of the national, European and international arrest warrants of the former Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemon and the three former ministers Tony Comin, Clara Ponsati and Luis Puig. They were issued by the Supreme Court, but the four appealed their legality to the Constitutional Court.
In its decision, the Constitutional Court upheld the arrest warrants issued by the Supreme Court on 14 October and 4 November 2019 and upheld the decision of Pablo Larena, who is leading the case against Puchdemon, not to suspend them on March 16, when the European Parliament lifted their immunity. .
Sassari’s court in Italy refused to extradite Carles Puigdemon after his arrest because it ruled that the European arrest warrant was not in force until the European Court of Justice ruled on Spain‘s request under what circumstances a member state could refuse to execute it. However, the Spanish Supreme Court has always considered the arrest warrant valid and therefore demanded that Puchdemon and his two party members Tony Comin and Clara Ponsati be detained until the final decision of the European magistrates.
According to Pablo Larena, the decision of the Constitutional Court legitimizes his actions and supports his thesis that the national proceedings are suspended until the ruling of the Court of Justice, but this does not prevent the Italian authorities from arresting and detaining the three wanted politicians.
