Germans set bail for ex-Catalan leader
MADRID — A German court ruled Thursday that former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont can be released on bail pending a decision on his extradition to Spain, finding that the most serious accusation against him isn’t punishable under German law.
The state court in the northern town of Schleswig said it set conditions including a $92,000 payment for the 55-year-old to leave jail. It wasn’t immediately clear when he would be released.
Puigdemont was detained on a European arrest warrant shortly after entering Germany on March 25. He was trying to drive from Finland to Belgium, where he has been living since fleeing to escape arrest in Spain. He has been held at a prison in Neumuenster.
Spanish authorities accuse Puigdemont of rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia’s independence from Spain.
German prosecutors argued earlier this week that the main charge of rebellion is equivalent to Germany’s criminal offense of treason. German law calls for prison sentences for anyone who “undertakes, by force or through threat of force” to undermine the republic’s existence or change its constitutional order.
However, the court disagreed Thursday, saying Puigdemont can’t be extradited for rebellion.