Germany may extradite Puigdemont to Spain for embezzlement

A German court ruled Thursday that Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain, but only for alleged embezzlement and not for the most serious rebellion charge.

"extradition for charge of embezzlement of public funds is receivable, extradition for charge of rebellion is not admissible", said the regional superior court of Schleswig-Holstein, claiming that "… it is the responsibility of the prosecutor to organize the delivery to the Spanish authorities and the former president of Catalonia "is free" until then

This decision closes a chapter in the legal procedures of the Union European Union concerning the extradition of Puigdemont claimed by Spain.

The former Catalan president said that he will fight "until the end" after hearing the decision.

A "Victory" for Puigdemont

"We will fight to the end and we will win," tweeted Puigdemont, celebrating that extradition for rebellion is ruled out, l & rsquo; Main accusation of the Spanish Supreme Court claiming him for his role in the failed attempt to secede in 2017.

"We have defeated the main lie held by the state.German justice denies that the October 1st referendum was a rebellion, "he said.

Spanish Prime Minister, Socialist Pedro Sanchez, for his part said in Brussels that he was not commenting on court decisions. He said that "the important thing in terms of Spanish justice is that the people involved in the events that occurred during the last half of 2017 must be judged by the Spanish courts."

The court's decision is a blow to Spain's grounds for seeking extradition, as it prevents a trial for rebellion.

The court also states the principle that the Spanish court will "respect" the German decision and that it will not prosecute the defendant for rebellion as well as for corruption

The judges also rejected the arguments of the Catalan separatist who considered a political victim and therefore, no progress should be made A charge like this "is aberrant," said the court, recalling that the Spanish state is "a member of the community of values ​​and the legal space of the European Union ".

Spain accuses Puigdemont of rebellion and misappropriation of funds for the referendum on illegal independence held in 2017.

Catalan has fled to Belgium after his dismissal and from there country has traveled to other EU to internationalize their struggle. He was arrested in March in northern Germany while traveling by car from Finland to Belgium.

The German public prosecutor said that he "would soon decide to authorize the extradition of the accused for embezzlement." A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office described the move as formal.