Belgian judge suspends warrant for Catalonia's Puigdemont
BRUSSELS (AP) - A lawyer for the Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said Belgian judicial authorities have suspended the arrest warrant against him due to his immunity as a European lawmaker.
Paul Beckaert told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Belgian judge in charge of the case also suspended the warrant issued against former Catalan cabinet member Toni Comin.
The two are wanted in Spain for their role in an illegal 2017 secession bid by the Catalan government and separatist lawmakers. They fled to Belgium after the attempt failed and were elected to the European Parliament in May as representatives of Catalan separatist parties from Spain.
Last month, the European Union's top court, the European Court of Justice, overturned a decision preventing Puigdemont and Comin from taking their European Parliament seats. Spain's state prosecutors' office, however, had asked a Spanish judge to maintain the international arrest warrants for the pair.
It is still not clear whether Puigdemomt and Comin, whose extradition hearing had already been postponed to Feb. 3, will be finally be allowed to take their seats.
'œThe investigative judge has decided to suspend the procedure of the European warrant following the decision of the European Court of Justice,'ť Beckaert said. 'œThe European Court has ruled they have immunity."
Belgium's federal prosecutor's office did not immediately answer a request for comment from the AP.
'œBelgian justice recognizes our immunity and decides to suspend the arrest and extradition warrant!" Puigdemont said in a message posted on Twitter. 'œBut now we are still waiting for the release of (Oriol Junqueras), who has the same immunity as us. Spain must act in the same way as Belgium has done and respect the law."
The ECJ ruled Dec. 19 that Junqueras, a former Catalan regional vice-president serving a prison sentence in Spain for his role in Catalonia's banned independence referendum, had earned the right to immunity when he was elected as a European lawmaker alongside Puigdemont and ComÃn.
Junqueras was sentenced in October to 13 years in prison for sedition. Eleven of his associates were found guilty and eight of them also received prison terms.