German court says Puigdemont cannot be extradited
BERLIN: A German court ruled on Thursday that Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader wanted for prosecution in Spain, may not be extradited on a charge of rebellion and can be released on bail, pending a ruling on whether he can still be handed over on a lesser charge.
The regional court in the state of Schleswig-Holstein ruled that the charge of rebellion could not be honored in Germany “because evidence of ‘violence’ is not present”, potentially dealing a blow to Spanish efforts to extradite and prosecute other Catalan separatist leaders.
Prosecutors in Germany must still decide whether Mr Puigdemont should be extradited for the other charge on which he is wanted, corruption related to the misuse of public money. While that decision is pending, Mr Puigdemont can be freed on bail of €75,000 (2.87 million baht).
Wolfgang Schomburg, t he senior German lawyer on Mr Puigdemont’s defence team, said that bail would be posted by Mr Puigdemont’s supporters. Mr Puigdemont’s Twitter account, which is administered by an aide, on Thursday posted the message: “See you tomorrow. Many thanks to everyone!”
The court’s decision is likely to reignite a debate in Spain over the attorney-general’s decision last year to bring rebellion charges against Catalan separatist leaders, although Spain’s legal code had been revised to emphasise violence as a component of the charge. The crime carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.
It also puts i nto question Spain’s chances of extraditing several other Catalan politicians who have avoided prosecution by traveling to Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland.
The German government had refused to get involved in Mr Puigdemont’s case, insisting it belonged in the hands of the justice system. After the court’s decision was announced, the German Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Rafael Catala, the Spanish justice minister, said the decision “demonstrates the functioning of an independent judiciary, here in Spain, in Germany and in all the countries of the EU”.
Mr Puigdemont was arrested on March 25 as he crossed Germany from Scandinavia on the way to Belgium, where he had fled in October after a failed effort by separatist lawmakers in his northeastern region to declare independence from Spain.
The Spanish Supreme Court is seeking his arrest on charges of rebellion and embezzlement of public funds linked to Catalonia’s Oct 1 referendum on whether to secede.
Prosecutors in Germany had asked the regional court to place Mr Puigdemont in custody after having examined a Spanish arrest warrant and finding it to have an equivalent in German law — one of several requirements before extradition can take place.
Although the term “rebellion” does not have a direct equivalent in German law, the prosecutors said that it “contains at its core the allegation of carrying out an unconstitutional referendum despite expectations of violent disturbances”.
But the court rejected that view, finding that “the conduct with which he is charged would not be prosecutable in Germany under German law”. The threat of violence would have had to pose a more direct threat to the government, the judges said.
In an interview with opposition German lawmakers given on April 2 from the prison in Neumunster where he was detained, Mr Puigdemont denied that he had promoted violence and insisted that all of the money used to pay for the October referendum was generated through donations. He also said in the interview that he had been overwhelmed by offers of support from Germans, many of whom offered him a place to stay if he remained in the country.
Mr Puigdemont will not be allowed to leave Germany under conditions of the bail and must check in once a week with both the police and prosecutors, the court said.
Several politicians and officials from Catalonia’s pro-independence movement welcomed the ruling as a clear victory.
Josep Costa, a lawmaker from Puigdemont’s party who recently visited him in prison, said it showed that “there’s justice in Germany” and he called for “freedom for political prisoners”.
Antoni Castella, another Catalan politician, called it an “astronomic slap in the face for the Spanish state”.
Catalonia remains in a deadlock six months after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy used emergency constitutional powers to oust Mr Puigdemont’s administration and place the region under direct Madrid rule. Separatist lawmakers have struggled to form a new administration after retaining their narrow parliamentary majority in a snap election in December.
Hours before the German court ruling, Mr Puigdemont’s party announced it would make another effort to elect Jordi Sanchez as Catalonia’s leader. He is among the separatist leaders who have been held in prison in Madrid.