Puigdemont’s trip to Denmark is still being assessed, says Catalan leader’s lawyer

It is not yet certain whether Carles Puigdemont will travel to Denmark or not. Despite Together for Catalonia MP Elsa Artadi said that Puigdemont would go to the Nordic country to participate in person in a conference, his lawyer, Jaume Alonso Cuevillas, noted that Puigdemont’s trip to Denmark is still being assessed. According to him, it is not yet certain whether Puigdemont will attend the conference in Denmark or not.

The Catalan president, deposed by the Spanish government after the enforcement of Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, announced that he would participate in person at a University of Copenhagen conference next Monday. According to the university website, Puigdemont will comment on the “current political situation in Catalonia and its challenges in the European context.” 

Yet, his lawyer, Jaume Alonso Cuevillas, stated in an interview with Catalan TV station 8tv that Puigdemont’s trip is still being assessed and that it is not yet certain whether Puigdemont will travel to the Nordic country and attend the conference or not. Cuevillas thinks that Denmark would not grant an extradition. Still, he pointed out that the Catalan leader’s trip to Denmark is still being assessed. 

It would be the first time that Puigdemont officially leaves Belgium since he arrived in the country on October 30, days after being dismissed by the Spanish government, following a declaration of independence.

Puigdemont and his ministers, all of them deposed by the Spanish government after the enforcement of Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, are allowed to  leave Belgium whenever they want, since the Spanish Supreme Court withdrew the European Arrest Warrant against Puigdemont and his ministers, over concerns that the Belgian justice criteria may interfere with the judicial process against pro-independence leaders in Spain. Currently, they still face charges in Spain carrying up to 30 years in prison, and were they to come back, they would immediately be arrested.

Catalonia and Europe at a Crossroads for Democracy?

The debate is organized by the Department of Political Sciences and moderated by professor and department head Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen. The professors Marlene Wind and Christian F. Rosboll will also join the debate.

The title of the conference is “Catalonia and Europe at a Crossroads for Democracy? Debate with Carles Puigdemont”. It will take place between 2 and 4pm at the Centre for Health and Society, entrance from Gammeltofsgade, building 35, room 35.01.44. Although the university does not require signing up for the event, it advises arriving well in advance, in order to secure a seat.