Former Catalan president detained
HAMBURG: Carles Puigdemont, the Catalonian separatist leader sought by Spanish authorities on charges of rebellion, was detained by police in Germany yesterday.
On his way from Finland back to Belgium, Puigdemont was detained after he crossed the border into Germany from Denmark, Puigdemont’s lawyer, Jaume AlonsoCuevillas, wrote on Twitter.
Puigdemont was expected to appear in court early today NZ time.
The court would examine, with the help of documents submitted by Spain, ‘‘whether a transfer of Mr Puigdemont to the Spanish authorities is legally permissible,’’ Ralph Doepper, the deputy attorneygeneral for the German state of SchleswigHolstein, said.
Paul Bekaert, another lawyer for Puigdemont, said he expected the court to release his client with some stipulations.
Puigdemont had chosen to take a car rather than a plane to avoid airport security, Bekaert said.
Puigdemont supported a referendum in October seeking the independence of Catalonia from Spain. The national Government deemed the referendum illegal, but Puigdemont, who was the president of Catalonia at the time, went ahead with the referendum anyway.
Puigdemont was removed from office at the end of October and fled to Belgium to avoid sedition and rebellion charges, while Madrid dissolved Catalonia’s Government.
The grounds for pulling Puigdemont over in Germany were a European arrest warrant, police said.
A European arrest warrant is issued in one European Union country and valid for all members of the EU, but countries still have the option to refuse an extradition request, for example, if the act is not a criminal offence in both countries.
Puigdemont had hoped to again be elected president of Catalonia but gave up his quest this month. — DPA