Belgian judge to decide on Puigdemont’s extradition on December 14

The Belgian judge in charge of Puigdemont’s extradition case will take a decision on December 14. After a hearing of the Catalan deposed president and his four ministers also in Brussels that lasted more than 3 hours, the final say of the judge will not be known for ten more days. Indeed, the court will say whether Belgium extradites the pro-independence leaders only a week before the December 21 elections. Yet any decision taken can be appealed by both the defense and the prosecution.

The defense lawyers Paul Bekaert, Christophe Marchant and Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas announced the judge’s decision date. They also told the press outside the court that the prosecutor has asked the Catalan officials to be extradited.

What are the arguments of the defense?

While the defense has based their arguments on two main points: claiming that the charges they are accused of “would not be a crime according to the Belgian legal system,” and arguing that in case of extradition, “there are a lot of elements pointing to the fact that they would not have a trial with all the guarantees required by international treaties.”