Spain’s Supreme Court sends new extradition requests for exiled Catalan leaders

The Spanish Supreme Court has sent new extradition requests against Clara Ponsatí, Toni Comín and Lluís Puig to courts in Belgium and Scotland, according to the defense teams. 

The lawyers say that the Belgian and Scottish authorities have verbally communicated the reactivation of Spain’s requests to return the former ministers so they may face trial for their roles in the 2017 independence push. 

Ponsatí's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, confirmed to the Catalan News Agency that the former minister for education will present herself on Thursday morning to the authorities and then go to the Edinburgh court in charge of the case.

On the contrary, the defense teams of Comín and Puig in Belgium still does not yet know when they will have to go to the authorities to make themselves face local courts.

Belgian authorities rejected the second extradition attempt against Comín, Puig, and Meritxell Serret in 2018 for an error in the form. Spanish judge Pablo Llarena withdrew the request against all exiled members of the Catalan government after the German justice system refused to extradite former president Carles Puigdemont for rebellion.