Spain withdraws arrest warrant for St Andrews academic

Spain has withdrawn an international arrest warrant for a St Andrews University academic who has been fighting extradition from the UK.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge abandoned the extradition requests for Clara Ponsati and five other Catalan separatist politicians, including Carles Puigdemont, the area’s former regional president.

The authorities in Madrid had been seeking Prof Ponsati on charges of “violent rebellion” and “misappropriation of public funds” over her role in Catalonia's controversial independence referendum last year.

But in a decision published on Thursday, Judge Pablo Llarena said he was revoking the European and international arrest warrants against the six.

He said he had taken the decision after a German court agreed to extradite Mr Puigdemont, but only for misuse of public funds and not on a charge of rebellion.

The charges followed the Catalan regional government's unauthorised referendum and a subsequent unilateral declaration of independence by the separatist-controlled regional parliament.

Prof Ponsati had been working as the director of the school of economics at the University of St Andrews since January 2016, before being appointed as the Catalan education minister.

She has been fighting extradition in the Scottish courts since being arrested in March, claiming the move was politically motivated.

A national arrest warrant remains in place which means she could still be arrested by the Spanish authorities if she returns to Spain.

Her lawyer Aamer Anwar said the withdrawal of the warrants was a “tremendous victory” for the Catalan politicians and people, but added that the national warrants that remain in place made Prof Ponsati and her former colleagues political exiles.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, tweeted that it was “very good news” if extradition proceedings had been dropped.

She added: “Political differences should be pursued democratically not through criminal courts. Let's hope she is now allowed to get on with her life - and being the credit to Scotland that she is."

A spokesman for the University of St Andrews said: "We are delighted for Clara, but will obviously monitor closely the further implications of the decision in Spain."

Prof Ponsati’s full extradition hearing was due to begin in Edinburgh later this month. She fled Spain with the other ministers last October before returning to St Andrews.