The Prosecutor’s Office requests the Supreme Court magistrate Pablo Llarena to summon the former Catalan minister Clara Ponsatí again after she did not appear on April 24 before the aforementioned body.
In a report sent to the procés instructor, prosecutors Javier Zaragoza and Fidel Cadena urge that a new summons be made for the fugitive “requiring for this purpose his procedural representation to communicate to this investigating judicial body the expected schedule of attendance at the European Parliament in the coming weeks, in order to make her rights as a MEP compatible with her procedural obligations derived from her status as a defendant in this special case”.
Ponsatí alleged scheduling problems with her activity as an MEP when she did not appear before the Supreme Court last week to practice the investigative statement where Judge Llarena informed her that she is being investigated for a crime of disobedience after the repeal of sedition.
On the other hand, in her appeal, the former Minister of the Generalitat appealed to a sentence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against an Italian MEP prosecuted to ask Llarena to raise new questions for a preliminary ruling to see if the legal proceedings opened due to her status as a member of the European Parliament.
On this point, the Public Ministry explains that they are not similar cases. “In the case resolved by the STJUE on March 21, 2008, the acts had been committed and the legal action against the Italian MEP began when he was already a member of the European Parliament, while in the case that concerns us the condition of MEP has acquired it one year and 10 months after being prosecuted. Neither when she perpetrated the criminal acts nor when the indictment was issued did she hold such status. Consequently, if the defendant had not evaded the action of justice from the beginning of the criminal proceedings, a sentence would have already been handed down with respect to it before she became a member of the European Parliament”.
On the other hand, the prosecutors of the Chamber warn that their unjustified failure to appear at the judicial appeal can lead to their arrest in accordance with article 487 of the Criminal Procedure Law, “which allows the arrest of those who do not appear at the judicial appeals to be placed at the disposal of the This is a provisional instrumental measure provided for the purpose of making it possible to carry out judicial actions that are absolutely essential for the continuation of the criminal proceedings, and which in the specific case will not modify their situation of provisional release in the process”.
Likewise, in the event of being detained for not appearing before the judicial body, she will be immediately released once the defendant’s investigative statement has been made, without which the continuation of the procedure is not possible. This detention measure is only valid within the national territory and cannot justify the issuance of international arrest warrants, so her immunity from displacement as a MEP recognized by article 9, paragraph 2, of Protocol number 7 of the Union is not subject to any restriction.
The instructor will decide what measures to adopt against the escapee after listening to the rest of the parties involved in the procedure, that is, the State Attorney’s Office and the public prosecution exercised by Vox.
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