Ayhan Şimşek
26 March 2018•Update: 27 March 2018
By Ayhan Simsek
BERLIN
A German court ruled on Monday that former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will stay in jail pending procedures that will determine whether he will be extradited to Spain.
The separatist leader has been detained since Sunday morning by German police acting on a European arrest warrant issued by Spain.
The local court in the northern town of Neumunster decided to extend Puigdemont’s detention, German news agency DPA reported.
Following the ruling, his case was expected to be submitted to Higher Regional Court in Schleswig, which is responsible for the international extradition matters.
“Now it will be examined whether an extradition is permissible,” the senior public prosecutor told reporters on Monday evening.
A formal decision on Spain’s extradition request was not expected before next week.
Puigdemont was detained by German police in the north of the country, following a request by the Spanish police.
He was traveling from Denmark to Belgium, where he has been living in self-imposed exile since October last year.
A Spanish court reactivated on Friday a European arrest warrant against Puigdemont on charges of sedition and rebellion.
The 55-year-old politician led a parliamentary session in October last year that saw separatist lawmakers vote for the region of Catalonia to declare independence from Spain. He and 12 other separatist leaders were officially charged with rebellion.
