Catalan accused by Spain of running unauthorised referendum was detained in Germany last week

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

German prosecutors have asked a court to permit the extradition of the former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain. In a statement, officials said: "The prosecutor's office of Schleswig-Holstein state applied for an extradition arrest warrant against former Catalonian regional president Carles Puigdemont from the Higher Regional Court in Schleswig-Holstein." The appeal states that the offence of rebellion, which under Spanish law can fetch up to 30 years in prison, was unjustified since there were only isolated instances of violence before the independence referendum on 1 October. However the prosecutor’s office argued in its statement that the rebellion charge “contains in essence the accusation of calling an unconstitutional referendum despite violent riots that could be expected” matching the German charge of “treason”. However the prosecutor's office said that "after intensive review" it concluded that the rebellion charge "contains in essence the accusation of calling an unconstitutional referendum despite violent riots that could be expected," thus matching the German charge of "treason". Germany’s federal government has said it will not intervene in what it views as an internal Spanish matter, nor will it get involved in the judicial process in Schleswig-Holstein.
German prosecutor requests permission to extradite Carles Puigdemont to Spain. Puigdemont is in preventive detention in Germany since his March 25 arrest under a European Arrest Warrant on the grounds of risk of absconcion.