No chance to extradite Puigdemont in case of 'fabricated' terrorism case, says lawyer

With the arrest of pro-independence activists for allegedly plotting acts of violence, the Belgian lawyer of former president Carles Puigdemont warns that if Spain tries to "fabricate a case" against his client for terrorism, it "will have no chance" to extradite him with a new arrest warrant.

The exiled former president had already said the latest arrests to activists and their alleged links with his family were aiming to persuade Belgium to extradite him.

His defense expects a third European arrest warrant against him and the other exiled officials after two failed attempts to be launched immediately after the verdict on the political leaders is out this October.

Paul Bekaert, who represents Puigdemont in Brussels, spoke to the Catalan News Agency also about the media reports linking the head of the JxCat party with the case of the CDR activists being held in custody under terror charges.

Bekaert insists that if the Spanish authorities demand that a new European arrest warrant be automatically issued for the former president on the grounds of terrorism, it will be "a Belgian judge who decides if the facts are terrorism or not."

In any case, says the lawyer, whatever decision a judge might come to would have to be suspended while the European courts rule on whether Puigdemont enjoys immunity after being elected an MEP in May, despite not being allowed to take up his seat.

New attempt at extradition?

With the verdict on Catalan independence leaders tried in the Supreme Court due soon, Puigdemont, and his fellow former government members in exile, are ready to face another attempt to extradite them, with prosecutors looking into issuing a third warrant for them.

The Spanish judiciary withdrew the second arrest warrant it had issued for the exiled former officials involved in the failed 2017 independence bid in July last year, after the German and Belgian courts refused to extradite them on rebellion charges – in December 2017, Spain's judiciary had already withdrawn the first EU warrant they had issued.