Germany’s Schelswig-Holstein state court has reached a decision to extradite ex-leader of Catalan government Carles Puigdemont to Spain over accusations of misuse of public funds.
Carles Puigdemont is currently wanted in Spain on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds over his role in Catalonia’s independence campaign
“Extradition on the accusation of misappropriation of public funds is permissible; extradition on the accusation of rebellion is not permissible,” the court’s statement reads.
Germany’s state prosecutor announced, following the decision, that question of his extradition will soon be resolved.
In April and May, the German prosecutors announced their plans to extradite Puigdemont to Spain for rebellion and misuse of public funds during Catalonia’s independence campaign. However, a German court then ruled to release Puigdemont on bail.
The court decided that extradition of the ex-Catalan leader to Spain was not possible on the charge of rebellion, since it did not see evidence that Puigdemont intended to use force to gain Catalan independence. The court, however, has not ruled out extradition on the charge of embezzlement.