Scottish court tells Clara Ponsatí she is 'free to go'

FORMER Catalunya education minister Clara Ponsatí is now free and her passport has been returned to her after Spain's Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena lifted the European arrest warrant against the regional politicians who left the country after the disputed independence referendum on October 1.

Dr Ponsatí was among four ministers from Catalunya who fled to Belgium with deposed regional president Carles Puigdemont to avoid arrest.

Meritxell Serret, Antoni Comín and Lluís Puig remain in Belgium, and Puigdemont is currently in Germany where he was caught driving home to Waterloo from Helskinki, Finland after a conference.

Dr Ponsatí left Belgium after a few weeks to return to her old job as economics professor at Edinburgh's prestigious St Andrew's University.

An initial arrest warrant when the five were still in Belgium was lifted and replaced with a national arrest order, meaning none of them could return to Spain unless they wanted to end up in handcuffs at the border.

But they were able to travel freely around Europe until, earlier this year, judge Llarena reinstated the European warrant.

This led to Puigdemont's arrest and to Meritxell, Lluís, Clara and Antoni handing themselves in to their nearest police stations and surrendering their passports.

But a German court found Puigdemont to be guilty only of public fund misuse for financing the referendum out of the regional government pot, and not guilty of 'rebellion', 'sedition' or 'disobedience', since this offence does not exist in Germany.

Spain's Supreme Court has refused to accept Puigdemont's extradition purely on the grounds of public fund misuse and acquitting him of 'rebellion', which meant his only other option was to lift the European order.

The Spanish arrest warrant remains in place, meaning none of the five can return to the country without ending up behind bars.

In a summary hearing at Edinburgh court, judge Nigel Ross told Dr Ponsatí that she was 'free to go'.

The 61-year-old professor, who has been overwhelmingly backed by Scottish society and by its SNP-led government, had already been on conditional discharge since March, but has now been given her passport back and has no obligations attached to her freedom and no requirement to report to the court.

SNP leaders and voters said at the time the arrest warrant was reinstated that Dr Ponsatí was facing up to 30 years in jail for helping organise a referendum which Scotland had been allowed to hold legally, and which led to a narrow majority voting to remain within the United Kingdom.

'Stay' voters unsure which way to jump were largely swayed by the knowledge that an independent Scotland would be left outside the European Union, and feel betrayed by the Brexit process as they will now be taken out of the 'club' in any case along with the rest of the UK, despite the region's having voted to remain.