Arrested in Germany the former Catalan independent president

USPA NEWS - The former president of the regional government of Catalonia (Northeast Spain), Carles Puigdemont, was arrested on Sunday by the German police on a highway 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) from the German border with Denmark, where he came from. The arrest was carried out in compliance with the European and international arrest warrant issued by a judge of the Spanish Supreme Court, which accuses Puigdemont of a crime of rebellion for declaring the unilateral independence of Catalonia.

The crime that is imputed to him is gathered in the German laws, that punish him with between 10 years of prison and life imprisonment. The former Catalan president returned from Finland, where he had given a conference, and was being watched by Spanish intelligence, which considered the possibility of detaining him in Denmark, although later decided to wait for his entry into Germany, where police and judicial cooperation with Spain is higher. Puigdemont was traveling in a Renault Space car with four other people, whose identities have not transcended. 30 kilometers from the border, in German territory, the car was intercepted on the A-7 highway by the German police, which arrested the former Catalan president and transferred him to police stations in compliance with the European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish Supreme Court.

Spain's Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena called on Friday several former leaders of the regional government of Catalonia and the Catalan Parliament, such as former international relations officer Raul Romeva and regional Chamber president Carme Forcadell. who communicated his prosecution for the crime of rebellion, by declaring unilaterally the independence of Catalonia. The judge decreed the immediate entry into prison of all of them and issued European and international arrest warrants against the rest of the defendants who are fleeing from the Spanish courts, including former President Carles Puigdemont.

Unlike Belgium or Switzerland, where some of the fugitives are found, the German laws do contemplate the crime of rebellion committed by those who claim, "by force or threat of force, to undermine the continued existence of the Federal Republic" or "modify the constitutional order based on the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany." And it punishes the crime with penalties between 10 years in prison and life imprisonment. The existence of this crime in the German legislation facilitates the extradition of Puigdemont to Spain, which can be delayed between 15 and 45 days, depending on whether the detainee accepts or resorts to it. The German police confirmed the arrest of Puigdemont to the Spanish Government. According to the lawyer of the former president, the treatment provided by the German agents was "correct." The lawyer stated that, at the time of his arrest, Puigdemont was traveling back to Belgium to make himself available to the Belgian courts.