CATALAN President Quim Torra is preparing to visit on Monday the nine politicians and activists jailed without trial by Spain over their role in the October independence referendum – a move that could put him on a collision course with the Madrid government.
Earlier this week the newly-elected president said he wanted to reinstate those in jail such as ousted vice-president Oriol Junqueras and Joaquim Forn, who was interior minister, as well as those abroad, including deposed president Carles Puigdemont.
Madrid has said it will end direct rule of the wealthy state once Torra appoints his government, which is not now expected until next week.
If, however, he tries to appoint the jailed officials, Torra risks further confrontation with Mariano Rajoy’s conservative executive, although some of its officials are unaware of the legality, or otherwise, of them taking office from prison or abroad.
Spanish government spokesman, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, said after a cabinet meeting yesterday: “This government will not fuel a dynamic of institutional confrontation. A counsellor cannot perform his duties in prison. There is a common sense.”
It emerged yesterday the Spanish government had sacked almost 260 public servants from the Catalan administration since it imposed direct rule last October under Article 155 of the constitution.
An association of public workers – ServidorsCAT – released a paper yesterday which also said that 24 bodies had been suppressed, four others had been taken over and around 70 legislative measures had been halted, including a bill against gender violence.
Officials dismissed by the Spanish authorities included all members of the Puigdemont cabinet, economy and finance department staff.
In a statement, ServidorsCAT dismissed as propaganda Spanish claims that the Catalan administration “does not work with normality”.
The group is planning to release a final report on all the consequences of direct rule and hand it to Torra and his future cabinet.
Meanwhile, the German prosecutor’s office has warned Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena that they will study “meticulously” a new European Arrest Warrant against Puigdemont.
Wiebke Hoffelner, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor general’s office, would not comment on a Belgian court’s refusal to hand over to Spain Toni Comin, Lluis Puig and Meritxell Serret, but said that he would evaluate formal questions of the warrant.
A German court previously dismissed the rebellion charges against Puigdemont, but Hoffelner said a new warrant from judge Pablo Llarena could be submitted next week to the Superior Court of Schleswig-Holstein.
However, the European Commission has again dismissed any modification of the warrant system. Justice spokesman Christian Wigand said that they worked “very well” and no change was anticipated.
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