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Carles Puigdemont: court rejects new bid to arrest Catalan ex-president
Source: The Guardian
Carles Puigdemont: court rejects new bid to arrest Catalan ex-president
Supreme court turns down request from Spanish prosecutors to reactivate international warrant
Sam Jones in Madrid
Mon 22 Jan 2018 13.27 GMT
Spain’s supreme court has rejected a request from prosecutors to reactivate the international arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont after the deposed Catalan president flew to Denmark from Belgium to speak at a conference on Monday.
Puigdemont, who fled Spain at the end of October after being sacked by the Madrid government, is facing possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds over his role in the push to split Catalonia from Spain. He will be arrested the moment he sets foot on Spanish soil.
The decision to reactivate the arrest warrant was postponed until the Catalan parliament is restored to normal activity, the court said in a statement on Monday.
Speaking in Brussels, Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, said: “Mr Puigdemont is subject to a process in Spain. Outside, for the moment, his movements are free within the European Union, but we’ll see.”
The warrant was dropped in December over discrepancies between Belgian and Spanish law that would limit the charges under which Puigdemont could be extradited and therefore be charged with on his return.
-snip-
Supreme court turns down request from Spanish prosecutors to reactivate international warrant
Sam Jones in Madrid
Mon 22 Jan 2018 13.27 GMT
Spain’s supreme court has rejected a request from prosecutors to reactivate the international arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont after the deposed Catalan president flew to Denmark from Belgium to speak at a conference on Monday.
Puigdemont, who fled Spain at the end of October after being sacked by the Madrid government, is facing possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds over his role in the push to split Catalonia from Spain. He will be arrested the moment he sets foot on Spanish soil.
The decision to reactivate the arrest warrant was postponed until the Catalan parliament is restored to normal activity, the court said in a statement on Monday.
Speaking in Brussels, Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, said: “Mr Puigdemont is subject to a process in Spain. Outside, for the moment, his movements are free within the European Union, but we’ll see.”
The warrant was dropped in December over discrepancies between Belgian and Spanish law that would limit the charges under which Puigdemont could be extradited and therefore be charged with on his return.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/carles-puigdemont-new-bid-to-arrest-catalan-ex-president-independence
