Spain targets Puigdemont with new international arrest warrant

A Spanish judge on Monday issued a new international warrant for the arrest of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont who fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution over a failed 2017 independence bid. The warrant, which calls for his detention on grounds of sedition and misuse of public funds, was issued by Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena shortly after the court convicted other Catalan separatist leaders on similar charges. Nine were handed lengthy prison terms of between nine and 13 years. Puigdemont fled after a short-lived declaration of independence on October 27, 2017, which came just a few weeks after his regional government staged a secession referendum that was banned by Madrid. Five other pro-independence leaders escaped with him and are variously living in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland. Of the six, four were wanted for rebellion and two were wanted for misuse of public funds. Of those that stayed in Spain, 12 were put on trial, with the Supreme Court convicting nine of them on Monday on the lesser charge of sedition. Monday's announcement was the second time Llarena, the judge in charge of the Catalan separatist case, had reactivated the arrest warrant for Puigdemont, but this time he dropped the charge of rebellion, substituting it for sedition. An initial warrant for all six of them had been issued immediately after the independence bid but was dropped in December 2017 over doubts whether Belgium and the other countries would recognise the charge of rebellion. Llarena then reactivated the warrants in late March, and two days later German police arrested Puigdemont as he was returning from a trip to Finland. But a German court rejected the request on grounds rebellion was not recognised under German law, saying he could only be extradited on grounds of embezzlement connected to the alleged misuse of public funds. Anyone extradited on an international arrest warrant can only be tried on charges approved in the extradition order. The warrants were dropped for a second time in July 2018. Catalonia's ousted leader Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution over the failed independence bid