Pedro Sánchez believes that Carles Puigdemont, who has fled out of Spain for 1,425 days, "has to appear and submit to justice" after his arrest in Sardinia. The President of the Government, visiting the areas affected by the volcanic eruption on La Palma, has been very respectful this Friday with the actions of the Italian justice, which has to decide whether to hand over the former Catalan president to be tried in Court Supreme. “When Puigdemont fled from the action of justice there was another Government, this Government has always maintained the same position. First of all, I respect all the judicial procedures that are opened in Spain, in Europe, in this case in Italy. And without any doubt I also respect and comply with the judicial decisions that can be taken in this regard in Italy ”,has stated in a hearing on the island of La Palma. PP and Ciudadanos have demanded that everything possible be done so that Puigdemont is tried in Spain and, in the event that he is convicted, he is not pardoned.
While waiting to verify the consequences that the arrest of the Catalan former president could have on the dialogue table and in obtaining the necessary support for the Budgets, with ERC very pressured by Junts, Sánchez has appealed to maintain the bridges. “Today more than ever it is important to vindicate dialogue. Today, if possible, dialogue is more necessary. It was ten years ago, it was in 2017, it is today and it will continue to do so in the future ”, he observed. Both the president and several ministers have reiterated throughout the day their respect for justice. “We are in a state of law, there is a separation of powers, it is the courts that will have to resolve legal issues. We would all do well to be prudent and wait, ”said Defense Minister Margarita Robles.The Defense Minister insisted that the Executive's position “is the only one possible in a state of law: any citizen, therefore Mr. Puigdemont, must always be at the disposal of the courts. No one can evade the action of Justice, everyone has the obligation to appear in court. This is applicable to everyone without exception ”.
The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, has once again been of the entire PSOE is the one that has been most forceful. Emiliano García-Page has demanded that Puigdemont serve the prison sentence if he is extradited to Spain and convicted for the role he played in the
process
. “I have always liked Italians, tonight a little more. I never wish anything bad for anyone personally, nor do I like anyone to go to jail, not at all, but the law is made for everyone. The same law that allowed Puigdemont to be president of the Generalitat, the same law and the same courts are those that are demanding that he sit before the Spanish justice. Hopefully it will be this time because that way we will be able to turn a painful page. It is a pending account, the arrest of Puigdemont and its placing at the disposal of the judges, which may have a sentence if it deserves it in the judgment of the judges, and that it fulfills it, is a pending page of Spanish democracy ", he asserted the socialist baron.“It is hard for me to believe as a Spaniard who truly loves Catalonia that we can sincerely overcome the problems if this conflict is not resolved sooner. Having this huge stone on the road is very difficult to move forward, ”García-Page added.
“The government's position has to be the only one acceptable in a democracy: maximum respect for judicial decisions.
We are in a rule of law, there is a separation of powers and it is the courts that will have to resolve legal issues.
We would all do well to be prudent and wait, "Minister Robles said in an interview on TVE.
In a similar vein, the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, has spoken.
"Puigdemont must appear in court and respond to his actions," he has observed in RNE.
"Illegal detention"
The Defense Minister has disagreed with Jaume Asens, president of the United Podemos parliamentary group in Congress, who considers Puigdemont's arrest "incomprehensible" and "illegal." “If there is a Euroorder, we cannot speak of illegality. A different matter is that legal questions arise. (...) We should not say if something is illegal, fair or unfair when those decisions correspond exclusively to the courts ”, has sentenced Robles.
Unlike Asens, Ione Belarra, Minister of Social Rights and Secretary General of Podemos, has been very cautious and has not departed from La Moncloa's position. “The Government is focused on abandoning the path of judicialization, on betting on the path of dialogue. That is why we have worked so hard to recover that dialogue table and for this to be the way, because the prosecution has proven to be a dead end ”, he assured on a visit to the island of La Palma.
Both for the PP and Citizens have described the arrest as good news. “The arrest of the fugitive from justice is good news for everyone. That as soon as possible it responds before the Spanish justice ”, has declared Pablo Montesinos, vice-secretary of Communication of the PP. The popular leader has requested that the Euroorder be applied "effectively" so that it may be tried as soon as possible in the courts of the national territory. "In the European Union there is no impunity for those who hit the legality, which is what they did", has settled. The president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso also hopes that Puigdemont "will be tried and that it will be soon."
Ciudadanos has demanded the Government not to lower the penalties for sedition and not to pardon Puigdemont if he is tried and convicted in Spain. "His arrest is good news for the Democrats, but I am convinced that Pedro Sánchez right now is hoping that Puigdemont will not be brought [to Spain] because things are complicated for him," said its president, Inés Arrimadas. "Sánchez has deteriorated the image of the Spanish justice system, he said that a Supreme Court ruling was revenge," he emphasized on the arguments that the Government gave for the granting of pardons last June to the
procés
leaders
imprisoned for sedition and embezzlement thinking of "harmony" and not "revenge."
With information from
Javier Casqueiro
,
Paula Chouza
and
Virginia Martínez
.