The judge allows Pujol's eldest son to circulate through the Schengen area but maintains the withdrawal of his passport

It takes into account the five years of precautionary measures and that it has complied with them

MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The judge of the National Court (AN) Santiago Pedraz has partially lifted the precautionary measures that weighed on Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, the eldest son of former Catalan president Jordi Pujol, allowing him to circulate through the Schengen area, although he has maintained the withdrawal of his passport, within the framework of the cause on the origin of the family patrimony.

In an order from this same Tuesday, to which Europa Press has had access, the head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 5 "accedes to the request for freedom of movement through the Schengen area", taking into account "that the accused has been fulfilling the obligations imposed" in 2017 and "the time elapsed" since then.

Thus, in part, he attends to the request made by the defense of Pujol Ferrusola on September 29, where he urged Pedraz to lift the precautionary measures imposed almost five years ago: appearances in court, prohibition to leave Spain, withdrawal of passport and bail of 500,000 euros.

In this time, he wielded, only the precautionary measure of court appearances, which started out weekly and ended up being monthly, has been "tempered".

"Almost five years have elapsed since the imposition of the aforementioned precautionary measures, the procedural reality itself has shown strict compliance. Our principal has not only not left the country and has deposited the imposed bail, but has also signed weekly without the slightest incident" , emphasized the defense.

To this he added that, once the order to open the oral trial had been issued - which already seated him on the defendant's bench -, Pujol Ferrusola "has secured all of the established civil liability."

The legal team of the eldest son of the Pujols argued that his personal situation "should be assimilated to that of the brothers who share an accusatory table", mentioning Oleguer, Pere, Josep, Oriol, Marta and Mireia, with respect to whom he supports "very personal measures unequal".

However, he proposed that his passport be returned and he be allowed to leave Spain, arguing that both he and "the rest of his family" live in Barcelona, ​​which he considers "indisputable proof of his roots." "There is no personal circumstance that indicates greater interest in remaining in our territory, such as being able to lead a normal life with his family," he indicated.

Only on a subsidiary basis was the defense interested in being allowed to move freely through the Schengen area, maintaining the withdrawal of the passport. To do this, he stressed that "the current and effective European judicial cooperation discourages any possibility of escaping to a country from that territory."

Pedraz has opted for this second option, after receiving a report from the prosecutor Belén Suárez Pantín opposing Pujol Ferrusola's request.