Spain drops arrest warrant for former Catalan leader

Spain's Supreme Court dropped aEuropean arrest warrant for former Catalan leader CarlesPuigdemont on Thursday after Germany refused to extradite him toface a charge of rebellion for declaring Catalonia anindependent state last year.

The Spanish court also dropped European arrest warrants forfive other Catalan pro-independence leaders living abroad.

The move demonstrates the difficulty Spain has faced intrying to persuade its European Union partners to help it bringformer members of Catalonia's regional government to trial forholding a referendum on a split from Spain.

Puigdemont's regional government held the vote last year indefiance of a Spanish court that had ruled it illegal. After thevote, the Catalan regional authorities declared independence,prompting Madrid to impose direct rule, fire the region'sgovernment and hold new elections there.

Several members of Puigdemont's former cabinet are now injail in Madrid facing rebellion charges, while he and severalothers are scattered across Europe, where they so far havesuccessfully avoided Spanish efforts to have them sent home.

A German court ruled a week ago that Puigdemont, 55, couldbe extradited to Spain to face a separate charge for misuse ofpublic funds, but not for the rebellion charge. Under Europeanlaw, that means Spain would have been barred from trying him onthe more serious charge if the extradition were to proceed.

The Spanish court rejected that proposal, lifting the arrestwarrant altogether.

"Withdrawing the European arrest warrants demonstrates theimmense weakness of this case," Puigdemont tweeted in Catalan.

The charges against Puigdemont and the five others remain inplace despite the lifting of the European warrants, meaning theywould be arrested if they return to Spain.

Aamer Anwar, a lawyer for one of the other figures whosewarrant was lifted, former Catalan Education Minister ClaraPonsati, who is now a university professor in Scotland, said:"It's excellent news, with regards to my client Clara Ponsati,and obviously for Puigdemont ... but we tread cautiously."

"The question that arises is whether the Spanish governmentare willing to allow Mr.Puigdemont to simply return back toCatalonia and declare independence ... I suspect not."

The Spanish judge overseeing the case, Pablo Llanera, chidedthe German court for rejecting extradition for rebellion, sayingit had shown a lack of commitment to the case and undermined theSpanish Supreme Court's powers.

It is the second time Spain has revoked the arrest warrantfor Puigdemont since he went into self-exile when hisindependence bid for Catalonia collapsed last year.

Puigdemont initially travelled to Belgium where the prospectof charges being restricted led Spain to drop an arrest warrantin December. The judge reissued it later, causing Germany toarrest Puigdemont when he travelled there in April.

Six other Catalan politicians are being held in custody onrebellion charges that carry a potential 30-year sentence.Madrid would consider it unacceptable for Puigdemont to faceonly the lesser charges of misuse of public funds, which carry amaximum eight year jail term.

Since the Catalonia crisis of last year, Spain'sConservative government, which took a hard line has been replacedby a Socialist government. New Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hasmet Puigdemont's successor fervent separatist Quim Torra ina thawing of relations between Madrid and Barcelona. However,Sanchez has reiterated that any referendum on independence byCatalonia is illegal and against the Spanish constitution.

The Spanish government has no influence over judicialdecisions in the ongoing criminal cases.