Germany rejects Spanish call for Puigdemont’s extradition
A GERMAN court ruled yesterday that Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan independence leader, cannot be extradited to Spain on a charge of rebellion and ordered his release on bail while it considers his return on a lesser charge.
“See you tomorrow. Thank you to everyone,” Mr Puigdemont tweeted from Neumunster prison, where he was expected to spend the night before being released today on a bond of €75,000 (£65,585).
In a major blow to the Spanish authorities, the court said the charge of rebellion was “inadmissible”, as the acts of which he was accused would not be punishable under German law.
It will now only consider his extradition to face a charge of misappropriation of funds, frustrating Spain’s attempt to jail him for up to 30 years.
The court in Schleswig-holstein, the state where Mr Puigdemont was arrested on March 25, struck out the rebellion charge as it considered that the equivalent crime under German law – high treason – was inapplicable as it required the use of violence.
“There has never been violence and German justice said it today too. The crime of rebellion is non-existent,” said Sergi Sabria, spokesman for the Esquerra Republicana, a pro-independence party. Spain’s supreme court had charged 13 Catalan politicians with rebellion over the banned Oct 1 referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.
Five other extradition requests are currently being considered in Belgium, Switzerland and the UK, where Clara Ponsati, the former Catalan education secretary, is currently on bail in Scotland.
Mr Puigdemont was detained after crossing the border into Germany by car as he attempted to return from an event in Finland to Belgium, where he had been in self-imposed exile for five months.
The government of Mariano Rajoy had previously expressed confidence that the extradition request would be rubber-stamped in Germany.
The Madrid government last night remained largely quiet on the German ruling, saying only that it would “abide” by what was an independent judicial decision.