.@KRLS Puigdemont: Threat to Catalan MEPs’ immunity means ‘Europe has a problem’
In interview, ex-president of Catalonia charged with sedition says ‘borders are not from God.’
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"The legal travails of the #Catalan MEPs led to EU court rulings regarding election rules after Madrid tried unsuccessfully to block them from taking their seats in Parliament.
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"Their cases, and that of a fourth former Catalan official, Oriol @Junqueras, have also ensnared Spain and Belgium in a giant legal battle over the validity of EU arrest warrants, with wider implications for judicial cooperation among EU countries.
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Two Belgian courts have already blocked the extradition of former Catalan Culture Minister Lluis Puig, who is wanted on similar charges related to the 2017 referendum, and Belgian prosecutors have said they will not appeal, essentially making it a final decision.
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The ruling was based on two controversial findings. First, that Spain’s Supreme Court did not have proper jurisdiction to issue the arrest warrant and demand extradition because the Catalans should have been tried in regional court closer to where their alleged crimes occurred.
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I'm reading through a document on #ECHR guidelines. Nothing to do, though, with the right to a fair trial (Article 6 ECHR)... where the violations preventing #FreeCatalanPoliticalPrisoners leave you punchdrunk. Just one article after another by #Spain, violated!
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This is the "Guide on Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Right to liberty and security".
I'm still reeling. This is worse. It has to do with "arbitrary detention" on which the #UN#WGAD issued a severe Opinion ... that Spain pissed on.
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"188. The second limb of Article 5 §3 does not give judicial authorities a choice between either bringing an accused to trial within a reasonable time or granting him provisional release pending trial..."
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