Spain drops int'l arrest warrants for Puigdemont

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Spain has dropped international arrest warrants against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont over his role in his region’s separatist bid, meaning he no longer faces extradition.

Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena on Thursday dropped European and international arrest warrants for Puigdemont and other separatist leaders who fled abroad.

This means that Puigdemont, who was in Germany awaiting extradition proceedings, and five other Catalans who are scattered in Scotland, Belgium and Switzerland, are now free to move from country to country.

The Spanish arrest warrant, however, remains open which means they will be detained if they try to come back.

In a tweet, Puigdemont said the drop of the warrants "demonstrates the huge weakness of the court case."

Demonstration of independence political parties and associations to protest the imprisonment and exile of Catalan leaders in Barcelona, Spain, July 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

Puigdemont is one of 13 separatist leaders accused by Madrid of rebellion over their role in Catalonia's failed secession bid last October. Nine are in custody in Spain awaiting trial.

Of those currently abroad, Puigdemont and three others are charged with rebellion and other lesser offences like misuse of public funds. The remaining two have only been charged with disobedience and misuse of public funds, but not rebellion.

In his court ruling, Llarena said he had taken the decision to drop the arrest warrants after a German court agreed to extradite Puigdemont earlier this month, but only for misuse of funds and not rebellion.

Even in Spain, the rebellion charge has drawn controversy. Rebellion is defined as "rising up in a violent and public manner" to, among other things, "breach, suspend or change the constitution" or "declare independence for part of the (Spanish) territory".

But critics point out there was no violence during the independence drive, bar that of the police on the day of the referendum.

(Top picture: Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont speaks to the media the day after his release from a German prison on April 7, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP