Newly leaked messages by Spanish judges compare Puigdemont's case with that of a 'rapist'

A day after leaked emails emerged in the media showing Spanish judges casually denigrating and insulting the independence movement, more examples were published on Friday.

The messages, published by the 'eldiario.es and 'elmon.cat' digital publications, harshly criticise a German court's decision to dismiss the extradition of former president, Carles Puigdemont, with one judge comparing the situation of the exiled MP with that of a rapist.

The judges involved, who are from places all over Spain, shared their messages on a forum of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ in Spanish), the official body that oversees the Spanish justice system.

Among the messages, judges criticize the German judiciary for treating Spain as if it were a "banana republic," while some propose taking revenge on the European country by exposing its human rights record "bearing in mind its history," in reference to Germany's Nazi past.

Most of the judges consider the decision by the Schleswig-Holstein court to dismiss Puigdemont's extradition for rebellion on April 5 a mistake. One is critical of Germany for not considering the "violence" of the independence bid, which "justifies the charge of high treason," the nearest equivalent offense in the German penal code to rebellion.

German request for information "nonsense"

Meanwhile, a judge in Murcia rebukes the German court for demanding reports on the state of Spanish prisons, and "other nonsense." In a chat with another judge, both officials criticize the German court for "demanding [information] from us as if we were a banana republic."  

In one message a judge compares Puigdemont's extradition with a rape case. "It's like, for example, if in a rape case instead of the penis an object had been inserted into the rape victim's vagina," reads the message, which continues: "but that wouldn't mean that the sexual abuser was still not a son of a bitch."

The grounds upon which the German court dismissed Puigdemont's extradition is that the crime of rebellion with which he is charged in Spain does not match up with the equivalent crime of high treason in Germany. European Arrest Warrants require that the principle of double criminality be met for an extradition request to be granted.

Spanish government: leaked messages "private"

In a press conference on Friday, the Spanish government spokesperson Isabel Celaá said the leaked email messages were "private" and stressed that they do not undermine the independence of the judiciary.