Court in Italy: Puigdemont will not be extradited

Italy has decided not to extradite former Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont to Spain. An appeals court in Sassari, Sardinia has decided to quash the extradition process as there is no legal basis for it. Madrid wants to try and persuade Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists to hold a referendum in autumn 2017 on the political independence of the economically strong region in the country’s northeast. The allegation is of embezzlement of public funds to fund an uprising against the Spanish state and to organize an allegedly unconstitutional referendum.

Puigdemont and two of his former members of the government, who like himself live in self-chosen exile, were present at the trial in Sassari. When they arrived they were received by the singers of the Sardinian freedom fighters: “Liberta, Liberta”, he said. Freedom, freedom On 24 September, Puigdemont traveled from Belgium to Sardinia, where he lives, to attend a Catalan cultural festival in Alghero. As soon as he landed, Italian police arrested him on the basis of a European arrest warrant and took him to prison.

Puigdemont spent a night in the cell, then was produced before an appellate judge, who ordered his immediate release and set a trial date. Puigdemont participated in a cultural festival and was celebrated by Sardinian activists: they see him as a role model for his courage. Puigdemont then left the island but promised that he would return for trial. He is confident that as a member of the European Parliament, he has political freedom. This exemption was recently lifted, but an appeal is pending before the European Court of Justice.

in an interview in the newspaper impression Puigdemont said a few days ago that Madrid was following him in every way: “Having already failed with Spain’s extradition requests in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland, they were now trying Italy as well. ” Spain has been controlling “my life and my data” for some time. “I have evidence that I am a victim of political espionage,” he said. And since he is a member of the European Parliament, it is a serious crime. Spain behaves like a totalitarian state when dealing with it.