Spain sends third arrest warrant against Catalan ex-leader in Belgium

Belgium has received a request for a third arrest warrant from the Supreme Court of Spain for the former pro-independence leader for Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor said on October 16. Belgium had earlier turned down the requests made in 2017 and 2018. The third extradition was filed after convicting nine Catalan leaders of sedition over the independence bid and sentenced them for 9 to 13 years. Puigdemont had already gone in self-imposed exile in Belgium in 2017 after the separatist leaders in Catalan had organised a referendum which Spanish courts later ruled illegal and made a declaration of independence. 

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Thorough judicial analysis

According to the Brussel prosecutor's spokeswoman, the case will go through a thorough judicial analysis due to the complexity of Puigdemont's earlier two European arrest warrants. However, the final decision might take a few weeks to reach a decision and the center of focus of the local authorities would be to make a decision about the convictions for sedition, organised in Belgium were legal or not. The Belgian courts have reportedly used similar criteria to reject the requests made in previous years. The latest arrest warrant has been issued in Spanish as the law requires it to be sent in one of the national languages or English. Therefore, Spain will send another warrant next week. 

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President in Exile

After the unofficial declaration of independence in the Catalan Parliament on October 30, 2017, the chief prosecutor had filed a complaint against the then President Puigdemont. The German justice had refused to extradite him to Spain, therefore, Puigdemont self-imposed an exile in Belgium. Even in his complaint in front of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Puigdemont had reported that Spain has violated his right to stand for the election or his right to partner with other politicians and parties. The former Catalan President wanted the independence of Catalonia from Spain. 

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(With agency inputs)