Exiles in Belgium, free
President and four ministers turn themselves in to Belgian police in Brussels in response to extradition warrant; the process could take three months
Free. The President of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont and ministers Antoni Comín, Lluís Puig, Clara Ponsatí and Meritxell Serret walked out of the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s office late last night after the judge who examined the European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities determined that there is no reason to deprive them of freedom. The judge accepted the warrant for processing and it will now be studied in full by the appropriate court.
The shortcomings of judicial independence in Spain have been exposed in the Belgian courts that wish to avoid hurry in the process of deciding on the need for detention. In doing so, the judge will make use to the total time available by law, until 9.17 today, to decide on the need for remand, conditional liberty or rejection of the order.
Throughout the day the Brussels court was the centre of media attention from the moment Puigdemont and the ministers arrived at the police station to answer to the warrant. In bitter weather reporters waited for news of what was happening inside but it was not until late last night that part of the decision was made public. At the time of closing this edition on Sunday night, the formal documentation of the proceeding has not yet been made available.
If the judge decides today to imprison Puigdemont and the others, or to release them on bail, he will have two weeks to decide on the extradition request. Whatever that outcome is, the parties then have the choice of appeal, and following that, cassation before a final and irrevocable decision is handed down. In total, that could be 90 more days as from today.