German prosecutors press for Puigdemont extradition
Prosecutors in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein have asked the region’s top court to issue an order for the extradition of Catalonia's ousted president Carles Puigdemont to Spain.
“The prosecutor's office of Schleswig-Holstein state applied for an extradition arrest warrant against former Catalonian regional president Carles Puigdemont from the superior regional court,” said the prosecutors’ office in a statement on Tuesday, urging the court to issue the extradition ruling based on charges of rebellion brought against Puigdemont in Spain over his role in a failed independence push for Catalonia last year.
Puigdemont escaped to Belgium along four former cabinet members after he declared Catalonia’s independence on October 27. Spain dismantled his regional administration and issued an arrest warrant for the fugitive politicians.
Puigdemont was finally arrested based on a renewed European arrest warrant in Germany on March 25 when he was on his way from Finland to Belgium. A court in the northern town of Neumuenster ordered Puigdemont to remain in custody pending a decision by judicial authorities on his extradition.
German prosecutors said the extradition request was issued “after intensive review” of the Spanish rebellion charge which has no match in the German law. They said the charges matched the German charge of “treason” as it “contains in essence the accusation of calling an unconstitutional referendum despite violent riots that could be expected.”
The statement reiterated, however, that "word-for-word conformance between the German and Spanish criminal codes is thus not legally required.”
Puigdemont’s arrest in Germany sparked fresh protests in the streets of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and renewed concerns about wider clashes between police and those favoring independence.
More than two million people voted for Catalonia’s independence in a referendum called by Puigdemont in early October. Germany was among the main European Union members that had endorsed Madrid's view about the illegality of the vote.
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