This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/12/german-court-says-carles-puigdemont-extradition-is-permissable

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
German court rules Carles Puigdemont extradition permissible German court rules Carles Puigdemont extradition permissible
(35 minutes later)
A German court has ruled the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain on a charge of misusing public funds, but rejected a request to send him back on grounds of rebellion. Germany would only extradite the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds, not the more serious charge of rebellion, a court has ruled.
A source close to Puigdemont’s legal team said he would appeal a decision to extradite him from Germany on any charge. The separatist leader was held on a European arrest warrant in March while crossing into northern Germany en route to his self-imposed exile in Brussels.
Puigdemont fled to Brussels and later to Germany after Spanish courts issued a warrant for his arrest over his role in Catalonia’s declaration of independence in October. The Spanish government said this was illegal under the constitution. The Spanish government wanted Puigdemont to go on trial for rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for organising an illegal referendum in Catalonia that led to a unilateral declaration of independence in October, with the former charge potentially leading to a prison sentence of up to 25 years.
A spokeswoman for the higher court in Schleswig-Holstein said: “The court decided this morning that an extradition due to the accusation of misuse of public funds is permissible.” On Thursday morning, the higher court in Schleswig-Holstein authorised Puigdemont’s extradition to Spain on the lesser charge of misuse of public funds, but rejected a request to send him back on grounds of rebellion.
Responding to the court decision, prosecutors said they would soon decide whether to authorise the extradition of Puigdemont, who was arrested in March as he entered Germany. A spokeswoman for the court said: “The court decided this morning that an extradition due to the accusation of misuse of public funds is permissible.”
The decision by the German court comes after Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, met the pro-independence Catalan leader, Quim Torra, on Tuesday in an attempt to ease tensions between Barcelona and Madrid. The court thus rejected the German state prosecutor’s argument that the Spanish charge of “rebellion” could be equated with the German penal code’s charge of “high treason”.
The ruling means Puigdemont, who has been living in Berlin since being released on bail in April, will not have to go on trial over rebellion in Spain if he is extradited via Germany.
According to Reuters, a source close to Puigdemont’s legal team said he would nonetheless appeal a decision to extradite him from Germany on any charge.
Carles PuigdemontCarles Puigdemont
CataloniaCatalonia
GermanyGermany
SpainSpain
EuropeEurope
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content