The Swiss government has said this Tuesday that "a priori" the case of former CUP deputy Anna Gabriel seems to be linked to political crimes which have no legal basis in Switzerland. As such, a potential application for extradition or legal help from Spain would probably be rejected.
Nonetheless, any eventual request from Spain to Switzerland "would have to be analysed carefully", Folco Galli, a spokesperson for the Swiss Justice department, told Spanish news agency EFE. Galli added that, so far, no such request has been received. "In virtue of the legal basis which regulates the collaboration in legal aid between Switzerland and Spain (...) Switzerland doesn't authorise, like the majority of other states, any extradition, nor any other form of legal aid, for political crimes," he said.
He added that, "according to reports in the media, they would be, a priori, political crimes the Catalan politician is accused of", and that, "as such, Switzerland would not process a potential extradition request nor a request for legal aid".
Gabriel was meant to appear before Spain's Supreme Court this Wednesday under investigation for rebellion in the case open against the Catalan independence process, but has today announced that she will not go. In an interview with French-language public TV, Gabriel said that she's prepared to apply for asylum in Switzerland, in case the judge instructing the case against her in Spain applies for extradition to Bern, which could come as early as tomorrow.