The Week (US)

Schleswig, Germany

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Catalan separatist freed: A German court has released Catalonia’s former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont on bail and ruled he should not be extradited to Spain on the charge of fomenting rebellion. Puigdemont fled Spain last October after Madrid issued a warrant for his arrest for organizing an illegal referendum on whether the region of Catalonia should secede. He was arrested in Germany last month on a European warrant while traveling from Finland to Belgium and held for 12 days. The court in Schleswig said a lesser charge of misusing funds to hold the referendum would also be thrown out unless Spain could provide more informatio­n to bolster its case. The rulings are “an astronomic slap in the face for the Spanish state,” said Antoni Castellà, a pro-independen­ce Catalan politician.

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Puigdemont

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