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German court rules to extradite former Catalan leader to Spain on embezzlement charges

However, the court rejected the possibility of extraditing Puigdemont on sedition charge

Carles Puigdemont AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Carles Puigdemont

© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

BERLIN, July 12. /TASS/. A court in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein state has ruled to extradite former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont to Spain on the charge of public funds embezzlement, the court said in a statement on Thursday.

However, the court has rejected the possibility of extraditing Puigdemont on sedition charge, which means that Spain will not be able to try him on that particular charge.

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According to earlier reports, Spain presented videos that could prove the sedition charge against Puigdemont but the court found them unconvincing.

The Schleswig-Holstein prosecutor general’s office will approve Puigdemont’s extradition to Spain in the near future, the office’s spokesperson told reporters.

Puigdemont fled from Spain to Belgium in late October, 2017, following a referendum on seceding from Spain that took place in the region of Catalonia and the Catalan parliament’s vote to pass a declaration of independence. On March 25, he was detained in Germany while on his way from Finland to Belgium, as a European arrest warrant had been issued for him based on sedition and embezzlement charges.

The politician was released on 75,000-euro bail and has remained in Germany.

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