Catalonia’s ex-leader appears before judge in Germany
NEUMUNSTER, GERMANY — Catalonia’s former president, Carles Puigdemont, appeared before a court in Germany on Monday for an initial hearing on whether he stays in custody, kicking off an extradition process that could take weeks.
The closed-door hearing came amid heightened tensions in the Spanish region following Puigdemont’s arrest on a European warrant Sunday, at a highway rest area south of the GermanDanish border. Tens of thousands protested late Sunday in Barcelona and other Catalan towns, and some demonstrators clashed with riot police.
Spanish authorities accuse Puigdemont, 55, of rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum on independence for Catalonia.
Prosecutors in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein said the warrant issued by Spain accuses Puigdemont of rebellion and misappropriation of public funds.
“The competent district court is deciding whether Mr. Puigdemont will be provisionally detained,” state prosecutor Ralph Doepper said. It wasn’t immediately clear when and how the court would announce its decision.
Monday’s hearing is largely a formality intended to establish Puigdemont’s identity, not rule on the merits of the extradition request.
The state court in Schleswig will decide at a later date whether to put Puigdemont in formal pre-extradition custody on the basis of documents provided by Spain.
“This is not a question of hours, but something that needs to be examined very thoroughly and accurately,” Doepper said. “This will certainly take days, if not a little longer. A decision should not be expected before Easter.”
German government officials have stressed the case is a matter for the judicial system, but declined to say Monday whether the government could ultimately overrule a court decision.
Spain was plunged into its worst political crisis in four decades when Puigdemont’s government flouted a court ban and held an ad-hoc referendum on independence for the northeastern region in October.
Spain originally asked for Puigdemont’s extradition from Belgium after he fled there in October, but later withdrew the request until Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena concluded his investigation last week.
In the meantime, Puigdemont was free to make trips to Denmark, Switzerland and Finland, in an effort to gain international support for the secessionist movement. The international arrest warrant for Puigdemont was reactivated on Friday, when he was visiting Finland. Spain has also issued five warrants for other separatists who fled the country. It wasn’t immediately clear why Puigdemont wasn’t arrested earlier in his trip from Finland to Belgium.
However, German authorities examining a European arrest warrant need to check whether the offence a suspect is accused of committing is equivalent to a criminal offence in the country where he was arrested.
Germany’s criminal code — unlike Belgium’s — includes an offence that appears to be comparable to rebellion, the main accusation against Puigdemont. It calls for prison sentences for anyone who “undertakes, by force or through threat of force” to undermine the existence of the republic or change the constitutional order.
Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists argue that their movement has been entirely peaceful.