Today, at the graduation ceremony for new judges, Barcelona's Auditorium welcomed two kings. The king of Spain, presiding over the event, and the king of the party, the king of the dancefloor, the one everyone was looking at, Pablo Llarena. The instructing judge from the Supreme Court investigating last year's Catalan Referendum, more than the Felipe VI, was the event's star. He was there as the husband of the director of the Judicial College, Gema Espinosa, who opened the event calling for the new judges to have empathy.
The director's speech, which is always overlooked, was today ghoulish. A whole speech dedicated to impartiality of the judiciary whilst her husband listened intently from the fifth row.
As soon as he arrived, Llarena captured all the attention. An hour before the event was to start, he arrived at the Auditorium alone. Once inside, he was greeted by various colleagues.
One of those Llarena greeted was the head of the Mossos (the Catalan police force), Ferran López. Game face on, López seems to say that, yes, everything's going well. They know each other from court. Ferran López was a witness for Joaquim Forn, the Catalan interior minister held in Estremera prison near Madrid since 2nd November. Llarena questioned him in the Supreme Court not one month ago.
Once the formalities were over, aperitifs were served in the Auditorium's foyer. On the menu: cava, beer or a soft drink and a photo with Felipe VI or a conversation with Llarena. Everyone wanted to speak with the judge who is keeping half the Catalan government, the former speaker of the Catalan Parliament and the 'Jordis' in prison, not only officials, but also the new judges, those accompanying them and especially journalists. We managed to get little out of him beyond a statement that he cannot comment on decisions he still hasn't taken.
During the drinks, Llarena -who didn't leave his wife's side- spoke with the king and Spain's justice minister, Rafael Catalá. He also said hello to senior officials within the public prosecution service, including Spain's attorney general, Julián Sánchez Melgar, and the senior prosecutor of Catalonia, Francisco Bañeres.
Llarena was smiling and apparently calm during the more than three hours he was exchanging small talk and the centre of attention. It's his first public appearance since Germany released Carles Puigdemont on bail and discounted extradition on the charge of rebellion. And in all likelihood it will be his last public appearance before seeing the accused again. All 25 have been summonsed from Monday next week on to officially inform them of the charges they are facing.