November 06, 2017•Update: November 06, 2017
By Serife Cetin
BRUSSELS
A Belgium court on Monday released Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four other members of his Cabinet on probation.
In a statement by the Belgium Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the judge granted a conditional release for Puigdemont, and former ministers, Maria Aleu Serret, Antoni Oliveres Comin, Lluis Gordi Puig and Clara Obiols.
The group is not allowed to leave Belgium without the judge's permission and should reside at a fixed address as part of the conditional release.
They turned themselves into Belgian police on Sunday after a Spanish judge issued a European arrest warrant for them on Friday.
On Thursday, the five separatist leaders, who flew to Brussels early this week skipped their required appearance at a court hearing in Madrid.
But of the nine ministers who did attend the hearing, eight were sent into pre-trial detention without the possibility of bail.
Puigdemont and his entire Cabinet faced the extremely serious charges of rebellion, sedition, and misappropriation of funds after last month’s independence proclamation in the Catalan Parliament.
According to the judge, in recent months, the Catalan politicians “encouraged and used intimidating and violent force from the independent sectors of the population, calling for insurrection and challenging the constitutional order”.
