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German court lets Puigdemont go free

Schleswig-Holstein court closes extradition case only a day after Supreme Court judge dropped arrest warrants

The Schleswig-Holstein regional court took less than 24 hours to close the extradition case against Carles Puigdemont after Supreme Court judge, Pablo Llarena, withdrew the European Arrest Warrant for the former Catalan president and the other exiled political leaders. “Puigdemont is free and can leave Germany immediately,” said the court’s spokesman.

The decision by the German judges was expected but it was not clear whether they would announce it straight away. In the end, the announcement was made yesterday in a brief statement that said all bail conditions had been removed and Puigdemont was free to go.

Puigdemont’s intention now is to return to Belgium, to the House of the Republic in Waterloo, where he was residing before his arrest in Germany. However, before leaving the country, the former president would like to carry out a public event for the Catalan community in Germany to thank them for their continued support.

Almost four months have gone by since Puigdemont was detained by German police, on March 25, after attending a conference in Finland. Llarena’s aim at the time was to take advantage of the fact that Puigdemont had left Belgium to reactivate a European Arrest Warrant for the Catalan leader that he had withdrawn some months before after the Belgian courts ruled out extraditing Puigdemont for the charge of rebellion.

Now, the same thing has happened in Germany, with the Schleswig-Holstein court rejecting Puigdemont’s extradition for rebellion and only for the charge of misuse of public funds, equivalent to corruption charges in Germany. After careful study, the German judges decided there was no equivalent for rebellion in Germany’s criminal code.

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