Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has lost for good the battle over rebellion after the setback this Tuesday in the higher regional court of Schleswig-Holstein. The new evidence (photos, videos and documents) which was presented with such pomp just weeks ago by the Spanish government and justice system to try and have president Carles Puigdemont extradited to Spain for the crime, and as such try to overturn the initial decision from the German court in April, has had the same result: there was no rebellion. Judge Llarena thus has a single bullet left in the chamber: for the charge of misuse of public funds to be accepted, over which there are more than reasonable doubts in light of the investigation carried out and which is only upheld by the Spanish judge and the Civil Guard, not the treasury ministry.
The decision by the Schleswig-Holstein higher regional court settles a fight which the Spanish courts wanted to keep alive until its last breath and which German prosecutors have made their own from the beginning and by their own initiative. Judge Llarena is tackling the days remaining until the definitive outcome with a clearly defensive position after the serious setback suffered. The two most-cited articles of German legislation these last months, 81, which refers to high treason punishable by sentences of between 10 years and life, and 125, which addresses violation of the peace, aren't applicable to president Puigdemont. Full stop.
As already happened after the Belgian court's ruling, extradition having already been definitively denied in that country unlike, for the moment, by Germany, which has still not completed all its proceedings, the Spanish nationalist parties, despite their unease, have responded with great restraint. They do so to not make the mistake of rousing, as on previous occasions, the German government and public opinion. It's worthwhile, however, to remember the following unequivocal statement from Albert Rivera in this out-of-control battle in recent months to catalyse around himself the most ferocious attack against the independence movement and to prevent anyone fighting him to carry the flag for Spain. So, Rivera went as far as writing: "a federal country like Germany treats with equal or greater penal severity rebellion/high treason than the Spain of autonomous communities. Destroying a European democracy has a high cost". They were words looking for votes, certainly, because his predictions are today far from coming about.
And it remains surprising, although after everything it's more than to be expected that, whilst this happens in Germany or Belgium, Spanish justice should remain unmovable in its positions. Taking decisions which keep the political prisoners in pretrial detention or depriving the ministers Turull and Rull of using their political rights. "Spain is different", for sure.