MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2019) The United Kingdom has not refused to process the European arrest warrant for Catalan politician Clara Ponsati, wanted in Spain for her role in the Catalan independence referendum, but asked the Spanish authorities to provide additional information in the case, the Spanish government has said.
On Tuesday, the Spanish Supreme Court justice, Pablo Llarena, issued arrest warrants � national, European and international � for three former Catalan cabinet ministers, including Ponsati, who served as the education minister of Catalonia before fleeing to the United Kingdom in the wake of the unauthorized 2017 independence vote. On Wednesday, media reported that the United Kingdom's SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries) Bureau refused to process the European arrest warrant for Ponsati, saying it was disproportionate under the country's law.
"The SIRENE service told Spanish police there was a need for additional information with regard to the European warrant," the Spanish cabinet said late on Wednesday.
The government added that the word "disproportionate" was included in the document by mistake and was not used by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
"They notified our embassy about the mistake so the request is in effect for being accepted ... Relevant operations are being performed to check and provide the required information," the cabinet pointed out.
A document issued by the UK SIRENE Bureau, which was shared with Sputnik, also read that the extradition request lacked detailed information on the offense and lacked a description of the connection between the offense and the suspect.
As soon as this information is provided, UK law enforcement agencies would be able to make a decision on the arrest after receiving the authorization of the NCA, according to the document.
The document confirmed that the word disproportionate was used by mistake in the request previously sent to Spain.
In Spain, Ponsati faces sedition charges that led to the imprisonment of nine Catalan politicians in October amid mass regional protests. Ponsati has denied any wrongdoing.
Ponsati's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, wrote on Twitter earlier on Thursday that the warrant for her arrest would be acted upon as soon as it was clarified. The lawyer has also said the Catalan politician would not report to the police, where she would be arrested, on Thursday, as it was required in the warrant as the United Kingdom has sought clarification in her case.
