Clara Ponsatí, the Catalan academic facing extradition from Scotland to Spain for alleged sedition, said she will resist the European arrest warrant issued by judges in Madrid. Ponsati arrived at a police station in Edinburgh on Wednesday to be formally arrested and served with the Spanish warrant, before an expected appearance at Edinburgh sheriff court later to answer the extradition request. Her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said Ponsatí – an economics professor at St Andrews university – remains “defiant, resolute and determined to fight back” as they arrived at the police station. “My legal team is instructed to robustly defend Clara as she views these charges as ‘political persecution’ and a systematic attempt to crush the spirit of the Catalan people and their desire for freedom,” Anwar added. Ponsatí is expected to be granted bail before a full extradition hearing this summer. A crowd-funding drive to raise money for her … [Read more...] about Catalan academic will resist extradition from Scotland to Spain
Scotland
Catalan Cause Ripples Across Europe With Surrender in Scotland
Clara Ponsati, a former member of Carles Puigdemont’s Catalan government that tried to declare independence from Spain, turned herself in to Scottish police after a judge in Madrid ordered her detention on a European warrant.Ponsati handed herself in at an Edinburgh police station on Wednesday morning. The former head of education policy in Puigdemont’s government, Ponsati is an economics professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.German highway police detained Puigdemont on Sunday as he attempted to drive from Finland to Belgium and he is now being held in jail on remand while a judge considers Spain’s request to return him to Madrid to face prosecution for rebellion. The bid to bring Puigdemont and Ponsati back to Spain means the legal crackdown on Catalonia’s secession drive is now being played out on a European stage.Puigdemont’s arrest on Sunday sparked a riot in Barcelona that led about 100 people to seek medical attention and prompted … [Read more...] about Catalan Cause Ripples Across Europe With Surrender in Scotland
‘An eternal relationship’: Scotland’s famous football rivalry
Editor's Note: This article forms part of a series of content being produced for Al Jazeera in association with the launch of its new football podcast, Game of Our Lives. -- Peter Joyce has sat in the stands at Scotland's biggest football fixture more than 100 times, but he has yet to enjoy the experience even once. "Old Firm games [between Celtic and Rangers] are absolutely toxic; they have fantastic atmospheres but are fuelled entirely by hate," Joyce, a Celtic fan, told Al Jazeera. "They are not nice places to be. You don't leave them feeling elated, you leave them feeling relieved." For adoring fans such as Joyce, football can become something akin to religion. But, for some football supporters, fervour for the world's most popular sport blends with faith in an altogether more literal sense. In Glasgow, home of the world-famous Old Firm derby, which is contested by the city's two largest football clubs - Rangers and Celtic - that has frequently been the case. The Old Firm … [Read more...] about ‘An eternal relationship’: Scotland’s famous football rivalry
EU Commission: Scotland will have to rejoin EU after independence referendum
“The Barroso doctrine applies, it’s clear,” said the Berlaymont’s chief spokesperson Margaritis Schinas, right after Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced her will to get Scotland to a second referendum. Barosso’s 2014 remarks: A new state, coming out of a current member state it will have to apply for EU membership But, what is the Barosso doctrine? An EU official told New Europe that Schinas was refering to what ex European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told BBC back in 2014. Barroso told UK’s broadcaster before Scotland’s first independence referendum, that in case Scotland would leave the UK, the country would have to apply for membership and get the approval of all current member states. “In case there is a new country, a new state, coming out of a current member state it will have to apply” for EU membership, said Barosso at that time. In order to support his words at that time, Barroso cited … [Read more...] about EU Commission: Scotland will have to rejoin EU after independence referendum
Scotland questions Theresa May’s Brexit plan
A new twist has been added to Britain’s path to Brexit – Scotland’s government plans to challenge Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to begin the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union without parliamentary consent. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Nicola Sturgeon, first minister in Scotland’s semiautonomous government in Edinburgh, has instructed Scotland’s top law officer to apply to take part in a Supreme Court hearing scheduled to begin on December 5. Britain’s most senior judg... This story is part of New Europe's Premium content. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In from the ↑ Top of the Page ↑ Login … [Read more...] about Scotland questions Theresa May’s Brexit plan