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| Clara Ponsati: New European arrest warrant issued | Clara Ponsati: New European arrest warrant issued |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A new European arrest warrant has been issued for a St Andrews University professor over her role in the 2017 push for independence in Catalonia. | |
| Clara Ponsatí, who was education minister in the Catalan government, is wanted in Spain on charges of sedition and the misuse of public funds. | |
| Prof Ponsati, 62, denies wrongdoing and says she will resist extradition. | |
| A previous warrant was withdrawn last summer, but the academic again faces being sent to Spain to stand trial. | |
| The move comes after nine Catalan leaders were convicted of sedition over their role in an unsanctioned referendum on independence in 2017. | |
| Protests erupted in Barcelona last month after they were sentenced to between nine and 13 years in prison by Spain's Supreme Court. | |
| Speaking to BBC Political Correspondent Niall O'Gallagher, Prof Ponsati said: "I feel a very intense feeling of outrage and injustice. | Speaking to BBC Political Correspondent Niall O'Gallagher, Prof Ponsati said: "I feel a very intense feeling of outrage and injustice. |
| "A guilty verdict on the Catalan leaders is a guilty verdict on the Catalan people that went to the polls on the referendum day. So everyone will feel the verdict in their own souls." | "A guilty verdict on the Catalan leaders is a guilty verdict on the Catalan people that went to the polls on the referendum day. So everyone will feel the verdict in their own souls." |
| Prof Ponsati said she did not regret returning to her post at St Andrews University early last year, having fled the Catalan capital. | Prof Ponsati said she did not regret returning to her post at St Andrews University early last year, having fled the Catalan capital. |
| She added: "I think I can be more useful as a free person." | She added: "I think I can be more useful as a free person." |
| Clara Ponsati is expected to appear in court on Thursday, and will be defended by human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar. | |
| He said: "My instructions from Clara are to robustly defend her against any attempt to extradite her back to Spain. | |
| "They're trying to criminalise the right to fight for independence, not violently but non-violently. That is not a crime. It's an abuse of the extradition process and it must be stopped." | "They're trying to criminalise the right to fight for independence, not violently but non-violently. That is not a crime. It's an abuse of the extradition process and it must be stopped." |
| Prof Ponsatí considers herself an exile, unable to go home for fear of arrest. | Prof Ponsatí considers herself an exile, unable to go home for fear of arrest. |
| Asked if there were moments when she wondered if it was worth it, she replied: "Of course - but at this point all I can do is keep up the fight, and submit to Scottish justice if I have to. | Asked if there were moments when she wondered if it was worth it, she replied: "Of course - but at this point all I can do is keep up the fight, and submit to Scottish justice if I have to. |
| "This is much greater than myself, I'm just one small grain of sand." | "This is much greater than myself, I'm just one small grain of sand." |
| 'Politically-motivated charges' | |
| Spain withdrew the previous European arrest warrant for Prof Ponsati last July, four months after she was arrested by Scottish police. | Spain withdrew the previous European arrest warrant for Prof Ponsati last July, four months after she was arrested by Scottish police. |
| At the time Prof Ponsati argued that the charges against her were politically-motivated, and claimed she would not receive a fair trial if she returned to Spain. | At the time Prof Ponsati argued that the charges against her were politically-motivated, and claimed she would not receive a fair trial if she returned to Spain. |
| The independence movement in Catalonia has close links with its Scottish counterpart, and Prof Ponsati was given a standing ovation at the SNP conference in Aberdeen last year. | The independence movement in Catalonia has close links with its Scottish counterpart, and Prof Ponsati was given a standing ovation at the SNP conference in Aberdeen last year. |
| Prof Ponsati had been working as the director of the School of Economics and Finance at St Andrews University since January 2016, before being appointed as the Catalan government's education minister in July 2017. | Prof Ponsati had been working as the director of the School of Economics and Finance at St Andrews University since January 2016, before being appointed as the Catalan government's education minister in July 2017. |
| She returned to work at St Andrews last year, having been in Belgium since fleeing Spain with deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and three other former cabinet members following an unsuccessful bid to declare independence from Spain in October 2017. | She returned to work at St Andrews last year, having been in Belgium since fleeing Spain with deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and three other former cabinet members following an unsuccessful bid to declare independence from Spain in October 2017. |