March 11, 2018 - 3:51 AM
MADRID - A fugitive former member of Catalonia's regional government said Saturday that she has moved to Scotland from Belgium, where she had fled from a Spanish court investigation into a secession plot.
Clara Ponsati, the Catalan former education chief, said that she had returned to teaching at the University of St. Andrews. She appears as a faculty member of the School of Economics and Finance on the Scottish university's website.
Ponsati had been in Belgium ever since fleeing Spain along with Catalan ex-regional president Carles Puigdemont and three other former Cabinet members following an unsuccessful bid to declare independence from Spain in October. She has since renounced her seat in the regional parliament.
Ponsati and the others face arrest if they return to Spain.
An international arrest warrant had been issued for all five separatist leaders, but a Spanish judge later withdrew it. The warrant, however, could be reactivated.
Catalonia's separatists are currently negotiating the formation of a regional government after pro-independence parties retained a majority of seats in elections in December.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018