Jaume Padrós, metge de Jordi Pujol: "I request that the hearing be private. What do they want? To parade him? To see him humiliated?"

BarcelonaFormer Catalan president Jordi Pujol has been recovering from pneumonia since the weekend and is expected to be discharged this Friday. He is scheduled to appear before the National Court on Monday for a medical evaluation to determine his fitness to stand trial. We spoke with Jaume Padrós, the former president's personal physician, about his health.

What is President Pujol's current condition?

— Last week, President Pujol contracted a respiratory infection that became complicated, leading to a diagnosis of pneumonia and hospitalization. He required treatment, including oxygen and antibiotics. However, considering his age of 95, his frailty, and his multiple underlying health conditions, he has fortunately had a favorable recovery and responded very well to treatment. Barring any unforeseen complications, he will be discharged from the hospital this Friday, not to resume his normal activities, but to convalesce at home.

He is also scheduled to appear at the National Court at 10 a.m. on Monday to assess whether he can be tried.

— I have great respect for everyone's role, and I wouldn't want to be told how to do things, but I can't help but express my concern and bewilderment [regarding the summons] given the reports on the president's health, which state that he is not cognitively fit to testify. He is not in a condition to defend himself or engage in reasoned argument. He has difficulty maintaining a civil conversation, in terms of orientation, repetition, comprehension, and distraction. To put a 95-year-old with a severe moderate cognitive impairment on trial... Justice must be blind, but not inhumane. I have never seen such a severe report on someone's health not excuse them from going to trial, but rather force them to make this appearance remotely from home.

You are one of the authors of the reports that Pujol's defense presented in the National Court and you believe that he cannot be tried.

— As attending physicians, we cannot act as forensic experts. Initially, we only described his pathologies, problems, and abilities. It was explicitly inferred from this that President Pujol is not only unable to travel, which is evident and will become even more so after the pneumonia, but also cognitively limited. However, given that President Pujol has stated his desire to testify, the family did not present these reports as an argument to excuse him from going to trial, but rather placed the matter in the hands of the judges. The judges then referred the matter to the forensic experts, and their examination fully corroborated the opinions in our reports.

However, the National Court wants to verify his state of health directly on Monday. Do you think he doesn't believe the medical conclusions?

— It's within the judge's power, and I don't question it, but I'm surprised by the overwhelming agreement between the attending physicians and the forensic experts. There's unanimity. I don't want to pass judgment, but I find it very difficult to understand. If this appearance is because they want to directly verify his condition, they have the right to do so, but I only ask that it not be public. President Pujol deserves respect beyond his position as president. I'm sure the lawyers will ensure that. I'm a doctor, and I don't know all the legal procedures, but I do know and defend the dignity of people when they are vulnerable, and above all else, I want to defend the dignity of President Pujol, who, for me, is the patient Jordi Pujol, and I believe I have an obligation to make that clear.

But what happens if, during this appearance, he expresses his willingness to testify?

— I don't know what he'll do, but if what we say is taken as fact, the decision that he can't testify shouldn't change. He's always said he wants to defend his innocence, which is why things have been handled the way they have been, to respect his wishes. But the rest of us have an obligation to protect him because one of the characteristics of advanced cognitive impairment is anosognosia, which is the inability to assess the extent of one's deficits. He's not aware of these deficits, yet he insists he wants to testify.

What would it mean if the National Court ignored these medical reports?

— I don't even want to think about it. I want to believe that there is a principle of humanity.

He does not want there to be any debate between the parties involved in the proceedings about his state of health.

— What do they want? To see him degraded? In front of everyone? To put him on display? I demand that the hearing be private and that President Pujol's dignity be protected.