Germany to release former Catalan leader Puigdemont on bail

World
Europe

Spain's former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will be released under conditions, a German regional court announced on Thursday.

Puigdemont was asked to pay a 75,000-euro bail, said the court in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, stating that the earlier extradition request was not permissible on the basis of his rebellion charge.

The court however added that concerning the charge of Puigdemont's misusing of public funds, Germany could "theoretically" extradite him to Spain, but a decision still has to be made.

Regional newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung reported that the politician would also have to report to the police every week and would not be allowed to leave Germany without prosecutors’ consent.

Journalists stand in front of the detention center (Justizvollzugsanstalt, JVA) of Neumuenster, northern Germany, where Catalonia's ousted president Carles Puigdemont is being held, April 5, 2108. /VCG Photo

A spokesman at the Neumuenster prison where Puigdemont has been held said he would not be released before tomorrow morning.

"See you tomorrow. Thank you very much to everybody!” read a tweet posted from Puigdemont’s account.

Puigdemont was apprehended upon entering Germany from Denmark on March 25 en route to his residence in Belgium.

He has been a fugitive since Catalonia's failed bid to become independent from Spain last October. The Spanish Supreme Court issued fresh arrest warrants in March against Puigdemont and others behind the independence bid.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency