Spain issues extradition orders for Puigdemont and other exiled Catalan politicians after verdict

Spain’s Supreme Court has resumed the effort to extradite former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, exiled in Belgium, after sentencing most of his ministers to serve lengthy prison sentences for the 2017 push for independence.

The court issued new European Arrest Warrants for Puigdemont and other pro-independence leaders exiled in European countries on Monday afternoon, shortly after issuing the long-awaited verdict for their former colleagues imprisoned in Spain.

After two failed attempts to extradite Puigdemont—first in Belgium and then in Germany—the Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena hopes that the conviction for sedition will be enough to convince European judges to surrender him back to Spain.

In all, 12 pro-independence leaders faced trial in Spain’s Supreme Court. While Puigdemont and other politicians were also charged with criminal offences, they couldn’t be tried alongside their colleagues unless they returned to Spain.