German Court Rules to Cancel Puigdemont's Extradition to Spain

The High Court of German northern Schleswig-Holstein state ruled on Friday to stop the process of extraditing former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont as the Spanish Supreme Court has withdrawn the EU arrest warrant against the politician.

"The Criminal Board of the High Court of the Schleswig-Holstein state has canceled the arrest warrant and subsequent extradition of former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont on the basis of Prosecutor General’s Office petition," the court said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Schleswig-Holstein confirmed that it has sent a request to the state’s High Court to cancel Puigdemont’s extradition.

Last week, the High Court of Schleswig-Holstein said that the extradition of Puigdemont to Spain over misuse of public funds was possible.

On Thursday, the Spanish Supreme Court withdrew the European and international arrest warrants against Puigdemont and five other fugitive Catalan politicians who remain abroad. However, national arrest warrants remain in force, meaning that the politicians will be arrested if they return to Spain.

Puigdemont fled to Belgium in October to avoid sedition charges after last year's independence referendum. In March, the ex-Catalan leader was arrested in Germany but later released on bail by a German court.