Ex-Catalan leader returns to Belgium

By Serife Cetin

BRUSSELS (AA) - Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Belgium after Spain’s Supreme Court dropped an international arrest warrant for him.

“This will not be my last stop. This is not the end of my journey. I will travel around Europe to the four corners of the continent to defend our cause,” Puigdemont told reporters in Brussels.

The 55-year-old politician was accompanied by the current Catalan leader, Quim Torra, during the press meeting.

On Wednesday, Puigdemont announced in Berlin that he would leave Germany this weekend and continue his political activities from Belgium.

A German court ruled out earlier this month Puigdemont’s extradition to Spain based on charges of rebellion, saying this was incompatible with German law.

But it ruled that an extradition due to accusations of misuse of public funds was possible.

The separatist leader was arrested on March 25 in northern Germany, but conditionally released by the court in April.

The 55-year-old politician led a parliamentary session last year that saw separatist lawmakers vote for the region of Catalonia to declare independence from Spain.

He and 12 other separatist leaders were officially charged with rebellion.