Judge will say ‘no’ to extradition if hesitant, prestigious Belgian lawyer says

Carles Puigdemont and his four ministers in Brussels are waiting for the Belgian justice to decide on their extradition, requested by Spain’s National Court. But it could well be rejected, as Belgian lawyer Denis Bosquet told the Catalan News Agency (ACN). Indeed, he said that the judge in charge of the case will have to decide whether the crimes that the Catalan officials are accused of have an equivalent in Belgium. “If he has any doubts regarding this, he’s going to say no,” stated Bosquet, who is one of the most prestigious criminal lawyers in the central European country.

He also said that a debate on whether charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of funds have any Belgian equivalents is expected to take place, in which the defense and the prosecutor will be involved. The judge will have to “reflect”, according to Bosquet, because the prosecutor’s proposals are far from the 30 years in prison for the rebellion crime provided by Spanish law. 

What the lawyer also claimed is that, for the defense, the fact that the prosecutor has ruled out the crime of “corruption” in Puigdemont and his cabinet’s actions “might be a good sign." At the same time, it might also show the “weakness” of the Spanish international arrest warrant itself, which included this crime in their accusation. The extradition is quicker when a case involves corruption.