A former Catalan minister wanted in Spain for rebellion has vowed to fight against extradition after being arrested in Scotland where she is working as a university academic.
Professor Clara Ponsati was one of five fugitive Catalan officials being sought for trial in Spain after last year’s declaration of independence by leaders of the country’s wealthiest region. If found guilty of “violent rebellion” and misappropriation of funds she could be jailed for up to 30 years.
The six included former president Carles Puigdemont who was arrested in Germany last week as he travelled across the county from Finland to Belgium where he had been staying to avoid arrest following last year’s contested push for independence.
He had been joined in Brussels by Prof Ponsati who returned to Scotland earlier this month to resume her work at the University of St Andrews.
Prof Ponsati, who was the Catalonian education minister, handed herself in to police in Edinburgh on Wednesday to be arrested and later appeared in court for a ten-minute hearing. She was freed on bail after handing over her passport, pending a full hearing at a later date to be decided.
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Read more:
German court remands Puigdemont but doubts merits of extradition request
Clashes in Catalonia as ex-leader Puigdemont is detained in Germany
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She, like Mr Puigdemont, claimed that her human rights could not be guaranteed in Spain.
Prof Ponsati has set up a crowdfunding drive to raise money for her defence against extradition that has raised more than £160,000 in a few hours.
“It pains me to say this but there is no guarantee of due process in Spain and no guarantee of a right to a fair trial in a country where most members of the Catalan Government are already in prison or in exile.”
Scotland – which is led by a party seeking to break away from the UK – has been one of the strongest backers of Catalonian independence. The Scottish government and its first minister Nicola Sturgeon said that it was powerless to block the extradition process.
“Clara remains defiant, resolute and is determined to fight back,” said her solicitor Aamer Anwar. “Clara wishes to thank Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Government and politicians for their solidarity. Scotland has been a true friend to Catalonia in her darkest hours."
The hearing came as Catalonia’s parliament reaffirmed the right of Mr Puigdemont, 55, to be re-elected to his old post.
The symbolic motion was passed after pro-independence parties won a narrow election victory in December after the Spanish government disbanded Mr Puigdemont’s administration. The German courts will decide if he is to be re-elected.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
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- Albert Einstein
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- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
