BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) - German prosecutors have formally applied to a higher regional court for the extradition of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on charges linked to his role in the campaign for the Catalonia region's independence, they said on Friday. A court in northern Germany had allowed Puigdemont, Catalonia's former regional president, to leave jail on bail shortly after he was detained March 25 at Spain's request. Prosecutors also said they will continue to press for Puigdemont to be extradited on both the misuse of funds and the rebellion charges, arguing that violence which followed the independence vote could be attributed to Puigdemont's decision to press for the vote. Puigdemont was arrested in March in Germany on the way back by road from an appearance in Finland, based on Madrid's extradition request on charges of rebellion after he went ahead with an independence referendum in Catalonia in October that Madrid deemed unconstitutional. A court in Schleswig-Holstein had released him on bail on April 6 after finding that he could not be extradited for rebellion -- which is not punishable under German law.
Federal prosecutors in Germany apply in a Schleswig-Holstein court for the extradition of Carles Puigdemont to Spain, arguing that the treason charges are valid according to German law, because, according to the prosecutors, "the violence in Catalonia on election day can be attributed to the wanted individual".