Germany drops extradition case against Catalonia’s Puigdemont
Berlin, July 20, 2018 (dpa/NAN) Germany closed its case surrounding the extradition of exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont on Friday, after Spanish authorities dropped their request to have him returned to Spain.
A spokeswoman for the court said that the regional court has officially ended their investigations into Puigdemont.
The Catalan politician fled Spain after playing a key role in October 2017 unilateral declaration of independence by Catalonia’s separatist-led parliament.
Spain had demanded Puigdemont’s extradition from Germany, where he was arrested in March on a European Arrest Warrant.
A German court recently decided that Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain to face charges of misuse of public funds, but it rejected the more serious charge of rebellion brought forth by Spanish prosecutors.
As a result of the German court’s ruling, Spanish prosecutors would no longer be able to pursue the rebellion charge which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison against Puigdemont.
On Thursday, Pablo Llarena, the judge investigating the case on behalf of Spain’s Supreme Court, said the Spanish court had withdrawn the Europe-wide warrant. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Silas Nwoha