Catalonia's dismissed leader Carles Puigdemont, along with other members of his dismissed government address a press conference at The Press Club in Brussels on October 31, 2017. Puigdemont, dismissed by the Spanish government on October 27 after Catalonia's parliament declared independence, reportedly drove hundreds of kilometres (miles) to Marseille in France and then flew to Belgium. / AFP PHOTO / Aurore Belot (Photo credit should read AURORE BELOT/AFP/Getty Images)
BY Jemilat Nasiru
Carles Puigdemont, ousted leader of Catalonia, has surrendered to the police in Belgium.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium after Spain imposed direct rule on Catalonia, following an independence referendum.
BBC quoted Gilles Dejemppe, a spokesman for Belgian prosecutors, as saying Puigdemont and four of his associates surrendered to Belgian federal police.
A Madrid high court judge had asked Belgium to arrest after they ignored a court order to return to Spain on Thursday to answer charges of rebellion, sedition, misuse of public funds, disobedience and breach of trust relating to their secessionist campaign.
The associates are Meritxell Serret, former agriculture minister, Antoni Comíz, former health minister, Lluís Puig, former culture minister, and Clara Ponsatí, former education minister.
Puigdemont, however, said he would not return to Spain unless he is guaranteed a fair trial.
Dejemppe added that an investigating judge would decide by Monday morning whether to execute an EU arrest warrant issued by a Spanish judge on Friday.
They will be heard by the investigating judge who will then “have 24 hours, until 09:17 on Monday, to decide whether to place them in detention, release them under conditions or grant bail,” Dejemppe said.
He said if the judge decides to go ahead and arrest them, Belgium has a maximum of 60 days to return the suspects to Spain, but if the suspects do not raise legal objections, a transfer could happen much sooner.
According to BBC, Belgium can reject an EU arrest warrant if it fears that extradition would violate the suspect’s human rights.
On Thursday, nine members of Puigdemont’s sacked cabinet were ordered by the high court to be held in custody pending an investigation and potential trial.
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