BERLIN: A German court on Thursday agreed to release on bail former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and said his extradition to Spain was possible on the basis of corruption charges there, but not on the more serious charge of rebellion. In a heavy blow for Madrid, judges at the upper state court in Schleswig-Holstein “believe that in regard to the allegation of rebellion, extradition is illegal” as Puigdemont was not personally involved in violence during a referendum on Catalan independence last October, they said in a statement. That made his actions not punishable under German law, the judges said in a statement, rejecting prosecutors' argument that the Spanish "rebellion" charge was similar enough to Germany's "high treason" statute to justify an extradition. If Mr Puigdemont makes the bail payment and leaves prison, he cannot leave Germany without prosecutors’ approval, must inform prosecutors of every change of residence and report to police once a week, court spokeswoman Frauke Holmer said. Even if he had been arrested in Spain, Puigdemont could only be tried on the lesser charge rather than on that of treason, which carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison. The official said: “Spanish justice will adopt the appropriate measures in the face of these new circumstances.”

“I always said that I had full confidence in the German judiciary,” Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas wrote on Twitter, adding: “We continue.” A Spanish government source told AFP that Madrid “always respects” judicial decisions “whether they please it or not”, adding it expects “appropriate measures” from Spain’s judiciary in response. The conditional freedom comes after the courts ruled that under German law Puigdemont could not be extradited on charges of rebellion - and that lesser charges of embezzlement do not merit imprisonment. Mr Puigdemont is accused by the Spanish authorities of rebellion and misuse of public funds following an unauthorised referendum last year on Catalonia's independence from Spain. The 55-year-old was detained in Germany on a Spanish arrest warrant as he attempted to drive from Finland to Belgium on 25 March.
Carles Puigdemont is released on bail, following the German judge's decision that he cannot be extradited for rebellion. However, proceedings for misuse of public funds are being considered against Puigdemont.