The judge in the Pujol case justifies summoning the former president to Madrid despite his health condition: "We do not want to fall into ageism"

MadridThe National High Court does not want to fall into ageism –discrimination based on age– with Jordi Pujol. According to what the Diari ARA has been able to learn, this is how the president of the court judging the Pujol case, José Ricardo de Prada, argued at the beginning of Friday's trial session, the last one before the defendants' statements. It comes three days after it became known that the former president of the Generalitat will have to travel to Madrid on Monday to be examined by a forensic doctor and to certify if he is in a condition to continue on the defendant's bench. "The court does not want to fall into ageism, [nor] invalidate the role of older people," Judge Prada stated before the public session began and after one of the Pujol family's lawyers asked him to address the issue. "I want Mr. Jordi Pujol Soley to participate in the proceedings with the certainty that he is in a condition to be able to withstand the trial," the judge added. "The court does not start from prejudice, it wants to see exactly his capabilities to determine if he should continue or not," he concluded. Jordi Pujol's defense has chosen not to file any new brief because it considers that the decision has been made and there is no room for modification. And it leans towards Jordi Pujol traveling to Madrid by car. It is not yet clear whether he will enter through the parking lot or not.

The judge's initial intervention also carried a message about the media uproar that followed his decision: "It was the press, not you," the judge acknowledged. And he denied that the court wanted to "stigmatize" the figure of the former Catalan president: "The court has absolutely no interest," replied José Ricardo de Prada, who guaranteed the "most respectful treatment possible" to "anyone who is 95 years old." And he even cited a Catalan author, Anna Freixas, who is a doctor in Psychology at the University of Barcelona and author of Yo vieja. Apuntes de supervivencia para seres libres. At one point, the judge even suggested that if the "absolute impossibility" of Pujol traveling to San Fernando de Henares were confirmed, they might have to "consider an alternative." "To say that the court has to move, which seems to me...", he said. But general laughter in the room prevented him from finishing the sentence.

José Ricardo de Prada's statement comes hours after political representatives such as Salvador Illa and Félix Bolaños addressed the summons. The president of the Generalitat asked for "seny" from the justice system seeing that the former Catalan president is "weak" and that he does not feel "strong enough" even to go to El Vendrell. And the Minister of Justice acknowledged that Pujol's state of health Five months ago, the report by Barcelona forensic doctors that the former president's lawyer provided concluded that "he is not in physical or cognitive condition" to be tried and does not have the "necessary procedural capacity" to "be able to defend himself sufficiently". The National High Court forensic doctors agreed, but Pujol showed himself "available" to the court to "respond as best" he knows how and the judges clung to these words to keep him as a defendant. "We could obtain 50,000 opinions, but it is the court that has to do it. The court considers that it needs to see and know this situation," José Ricardo de Prada has now reiterated. The magistrate argued that what is "essential" and "indispensable" is that the decision "requires the physical presence" of the former president so that the three judges can "appreciate it" in person.

The hypothetical declaration as a defendant

If after the medical examination Jordi Pujol continues on the bench of the accused, and despite being there, the court does not reject that he can testify telematically: "The court will not gain much if he does it in person or by videoconference. If he wants to testify by videoconference, he has no problem." And it also has "no interest" whether it is one way or another. That is, whether he testifies or not and whether he answers the accusations or not: "He has the right to testify what he deems appropriate and as he deems appropriate." As of today, his defense's prediction is that he will not testify. Once everything is over, José Ricardo de Prada has made it clear that the former president "should not stay" in the room –his defense says it would be "unviable" for him to have to follow the trial from there– and he can go home.

Junts will accompany Pujol to "show him support"

Junts will accompany Pujol to "show him support"