Spanish judge withdraws arrest warrant for Catalan leaders

A Spanish judge on Tuesday withdrew the European arrest warrants for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four members of his former cabinet who have been fighting extradition from Belgium.

A Supreme Court spokespersonsaid the five could still be arrested if they returnto Spain, however, because they are still being sought for crimes related to the independence bid in northeastern Catalonia.

In a surprise move, Supreme Court magistrate Pablo Llarena said Tuesday that individual warrants no longer apply because the alleged crimes were a group action, according to new evidence.

He also saidthe probed politicians have shown their "intention to return to Spain" in order to run for elections in Catalonia.

But Puigdemont's Belgian lawyer said that the Catalan separatist leader wasn't planning to return to Spain immediately.

"For the moment, he stays in Belgium," lawyer Paul Bekaert told VTM network, adding that he assumed the extradition process in Belgium against the five Catalans would be ended now.

Illegal referendum

The five Catalans are facing rebellion, sedition and embezzlement among other charges for their roles in staging in October an illegal independence referendum that led to an independence declaration in the region's parliament.

The crimes are punishable in Spain with decades in prison.

Spanish, European and international arrest warrants for the five who fled to Belgium were issued on Nov. 3, after members of Puigdemont's government who remained in Spainwere jailed on provisional charges.

The Spanish court spokespersonsaid the judge's decision applies to both European and international warrants, not to the domestic ones. He asked not to be named, citing internal court rules.

Two ex-cabinet members, including Vice-President Oriol Junqueras, and two separatist activists remain in custody.

Question of extradition

Tuesday's decision seemed to leave up in the air the battle in Brussels over extradition for the five Catalan separatist politicians. A decision had been announced for Dec. 14, but the Belgian prosecutor's office said it was assessing the new situation.

The Belgian judge could have chosen to rule against the Spanish request or agreed to send the five back as requested, or reduced the number of crimes that Spain could try them for.

That possibility was mentioned by the Supreme Court judge in a nine-page document issued on Tuesday to withdraw the warrants.

Responsibility should be shared among all the defendants, Llarena said in the document, adding that diminished charges would mean a "distortion" for those already facing the probe in Spain.

Puigdemont is leading his party's campaign for the Dec. 21 election called by Spain's government in an attempt to find a
democratic fix to the nation's worst institutional crisis in nearly four decades.

Campaigning officially began on Tuesday. Early polls predicta close race between the parties for and against independence, foreshadowing a scenario of difficult post-electoral deals to end the deadlock.