(7 Apr 2018) Fugitive former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Saturday made a renewed call for Spanish authorities to open negotiations over Catalonia's secession claim, a day after he was released on bail from a German prison.
Puigdemont told reporters that he hoped a German court's decision not to extradite him to Spain on charges of rebellion shows that "dialogue is needed" to defuse the political conflict in his home country.
The former leader left a German prison in Neumuenster on bail Friday, almost two weeks after his arrest, after the Schwesig state court in Germany decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition because the accusation isn't punishable under German law.
Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds to hold Catalonia's banned independence referendum last year.
The 55-year-old told reporters he would stay in Berlin until his extradition case is concluded.
If he is not sent back to Spain, he said he would plan to return to Belgium where he has established residency in Waterloo since fleeing there from Spain in October.
The former Catalan leader was detained on a European arrest warrant after entering Germany on March 25.
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