The Penal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court -which judge Pablo Llarena1 is a member of- has reacted to the decision by a Belgian court to reject extradition warrants the Belgians describe as "irregular" for Catalan ministers Toni Comín, Meritxell Serret and Lluís Puig.
Court sources say they haven't yet received the ruling from Belgium, but that, from what they know from the media, they don't "agree with the cause" for which extradition was denied and interpret it as a "lack of commitment to lending the requested legal collaboration".
The same sources note that on 21st March 2018 an indictment was issued detailing the facts and legal arguments for which they were to be prosecuted and the investigating judge ordered pretrial detention as a cautionary measure.
Using the same arguments as the indictment, and at the request of prosecutors, on 23rd March a ruling was handed down ordering the delivery of European arrest warrants, which then had clear legal support in the indictment.
The sources say that such indictments are, in the Spanish legal system, the rulings with the most-developed arguments besides final sentences. Only an ignorance of Spanish law, they say, despite the explanation given in supplementary information, allows them to leave out the indictment the warrant is based on.
Translator's note: 1. Pablo Llarena is the judge in charge of the Supreme Court investigation into the events surrounding last year's Catalan independence referendum.