Spain drops extradition attempt against Catalan professor

A Catalan professor at St Andrews University has been formally freed from extradition proceedings deriving from the Catalan independence referendum, after a Spanish judge withdrew the warrant seeking her return to Spain.

Clara Ponsati, a former minister in the Catalan Government, was wanted on charges of rebellion and misappropriation of public funds relating to the referendum, which was illegal under Spanish law. Her case attracted a wave of public support in Scotland and a successful campaign to fund her legal challenge to the extradition attempt. A full hearing, expected to last four weeks, had been scheduled to begin at the end of this month.

Her supporters claimed there was no equivalent in Scots law to the charges she faced in Spain, and that the proceedings were an act of persecution by the Spainsh Government.

The latest development followed a court ruling in Germany in the case of the former Catalan President, Carlos Puigdemont, restricting the charges he could face if returned to Spain.

At a brief hearing in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Nigel Ross told Professor Ponsati that the European arrest warrant against her was discharged and she was free to go.

Her solicitor Aamer Anwar described the climbdown as "a humiliating defeat for the Spanish state", which had "used law as a weapon of war to try and eliminate their Catalan opponents".