The fugitives of the former Catalan government surrender to the Belgian Police

USPA NEWS - The former president of the regional government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, and the four former councilors who were absconding with him in Belgium surrendered this Sunday to the Federal Police of Brussels, where they were informed of the European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish National Court and they were detained and at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office.

The Belgian Prosecutor's Office had announced in the morning that throughout Sunday it was going to order the Police to arrest the five fugitives. It was the previous step to designate the judge who will decide if they remain detained or are released on provisional liberty and if he delivers them to the Spanish Justice. The five are accused of the crimes of rebellion, sedition, embezzlement, malfeasance and disobedience, for which they could be sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. The Spanish National Court had issued European arrest warrants and others to Interpol for the location and delivery of the five fugitives.

As explained at a press conference by a spokesman of the Belgian Prosecutor's Office, the five former Catalan leaders presented themselves this Sunday at a Police station of the Brussels Federal Police, where they went accompanied by their lawyers. In Police units they were notified of their legal situation and were detained and at the disposal of the judge, who in the afternoon will take a statement and decide whether to keep the five or arrest them or provisional release. According to the Belgian legislation, if those now detained exhaust all the resources provided by law, their delivery to the Spanish authorities could be delayed up to 90 days, provided that the arguments of the Spanish judge that issued the arrest warrants are solid and coincide with the planned in the Belgian legislation for extradition cases.

The five detainees had announced that they will oppose his delivery to Spain and the former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, said he will cooperate fully with the Belgian Justice for the solution of his case. The spokesman of the Prosecutor's Office reported that none of the five represents danger, so they were not handcuffed. The examining magistrate who will take the statement must decide on the immediate future of the five before Monday.