Rising star in the Catalan pro-independence block, Elsa Artadi, of JuntsxCat (Together for Catalonia), has now been targeted for investigation by the Spanish state. The Civil Guard includes her name on a list of "persons of interest for investigation" in the case being heard at Court number 13 in Barcelona. Listed along with Artadi, are 32 other individuals, some of whom held important positions in the department of Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras. This news was confirmed on the same day as Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena decided to maintain preventative prison for Catalan government minister Joaquim Forn and the day after Spanish justice minister Rafael Catalá announced that from March onwards, pro-independence leaders will begin to be disqualified from holding political office.
The Spanish state is adding extra intensification to a level of pressure that already seemed extreme, coinciding with the continuation of the pro-independence groups' lack of clarity on their proposal for the investiture of the new Catalan president, following last Tuesday's announcement by Roger Torrent, speaker of the Catalan Parliament, which postponed the debate to invest Carles Puigdemont at the last minute.
Catalan Republican Left (ERC) secretary Marta Rovira, who is to testify before judge Llarena as a person under investigation on 19th February - together with Marta Pascal, coordinator of the PDeCAT (Catalan European Democratic Party) - made a call on Friday for the investiture to be carried out in a way that prevented deputies from risking criminal charges.
“It is essential that the investiture does not involve improvisations, that it is not made in a way that lacks guarantees, that it is able to take effect and that it does not imply criminal consequences,” asserted Rovira, who was able to analyze the situation with the imprisoned vice-president Oriol Junqueras on Friday, spending 40 minutes with him in Estremera prison.
However, the JuntsxCat group has not specified the formula it wants to use to facilitate the investiture debate. In an interview on Spanish public station Radio 4 on Friday, MP Eduard Pujol would only say that "there is a plan", not wanting to be drawn on further details, he said, because the "negotiation, concretion and explanation" had to be with JuntsxCat's pro-independence partners.
With this background, the possibility raised by Junqueras on Thursday of conceding a symbolic presidency to Puigdemont, complemented by another effective government leader, began to take shape, with specific names being offered. ERC sources are thus proposing to approve the restitution of Puigdemont in a parliamentary session prior to the investiture, through a resolution or a declaration by MPs, to be followed afterwards by the vote for the effective president in another session.
In this case, the effective presidential role would have to be assumed by another member of JuntsxCat, which could be the number two member of the candidature and president of the group, Jordi Sànchez, at present in preventive detention in Madrid's Soto del Real prison, or the minister Jordi Turull, who was able to leave Estremera prison in early December. The third name mentioned as a possible candidate for the presidency is Artadi.
Neither Sànchez nor Turull would be affected by the disqualification from holding office that the Spanish justice minister referred to. These would apply under article 384 of the Criminal Justice Act (Lecrim), known as the Yoldi article since it was created to avoid a repetition of a situation involving Juan Carlos Yoldi Múgica, prisoner and member of the ETA terrorist group, who was presented as a candidate to be Basque president in 1987. This article can only apply when there is a firm indictment, with the person affected being held in prison and facing an accusation of terrorism or rebellion.
Sànchez is at present imprisoned preventively for the alleged crime of sedition, but not for any of the offences foreseen under article 384 of the Lecrim act, while Turull is investigated for rebellion, but is not imprisoned. Either of the two could thus assume the position of president of Catalonia, should JuntsxCat accept the ERC proposal, although this is still dependent on there not being a detailed indictment which could imply a prohibition from holding office.