Brussels Court to Decide on Ex-Catalan Leader Puigdemont Extradition to Spain

On Monday the former Catalan leader and his former advisers were released from detention in Belgium on condition they stay in the country until the issue of their deportation to Spain is resolved.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — A Brussels court hearing on the issue of ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont's extradition to Madrid is scheduled for November 17, a court representative told Sputnik Monday.

"The meeting of the advisory chamber is scheduled for Friday, November 17 for the afternoon. Meetings of the advisory chamber are always held behind closed doors," the representative said.

On Friday, Belgian prosecutors confirmed that they had received a European arrest warrant for Puigdemont and four other ex-members of the Catalan government, issued by the Spanish court. Puigdemont and other former Generalitat members are facing charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of state funds.

The former Catalan leader has fled to Belgium after the Spanish authorities sacked him along with his administration amid the declaration of Catalonia's independence. 

En llibertat i sense fiança. El nostre pensament és per als companys injustament empresonats per un Estat allunyat d la pràctica democràtica

— Carles Puigdemont 🎗 (@KRLS) 6 ноября 2017 г.

"Free and free of charge. Our thoughts are with the comrades unjustly jailed by a state that strays far from democratic practices.", Puigdemont posted Monday on his Twitter account.

After the Catalan parliament voted in favor of secession from Spain last week Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy removed Puigdemont and his Cabinet. However, the ousted Catalan leader refused to recognize the dismissal of the government and called for "democratic resistance" to direct rule by Madrid.