ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The former president of Catalonia must remain in Germany until his extradition trial, but is free on bail.
Schleswig state court spokeswoman Frauke Holmer said after a hearing on Thursday that Carles Puigdemont must pay €75,000 ($92,000) to be released on bail.
Puigdemont has been held at a detention center in the northern German city of Neumuenster since March 25. It was not immediately clear if he had made bail.
He cannot leave the country without permission from the prosecutor, report to police weekly, and inform the state of any changes of residence.
Spain sought for Germany to extradite Puigdemont on charges of rebellion and the misuse of public funds. The court ruled it will consider his extradition on the second charge, but rebellion is not punishable under German law, noting that the Catalan independence declaration was not violent.
"Spanish justice will adopt the appropriate measures in the face of these new circumstances," a Spanish official told AP on the condition of anonymity.
The fugitive leader of the Catalan freedom movement's legal team called the rebellion charge "outrageous."
"[Puigdemont] always said that he had full confidence in the German judiciary," his Barcelona-based lawyer Jaime Alonso-Cuevillas tweeted.
News of Puigdemont's bail "will reduce tension and pressure in Catalonia" where protestors have blocked streets and clashed with police in recent days, political scientist Oriol Bartomeus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona told AFP.
After five months on the run from Spanish authorities in northern Europe, Puigdemont was detained while crossing from Denmark into Germany with the help of Spanish intelligence services.
His arrest sparked violent protests in Barcelona.
Catalonia's independence bid was met by overwhelming foreign opposition and support for the Spanish government including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to take necessary measures permitted under the constitution to prevent the separation.
Puigdemont opted for the presidency not to declare independence; instead, the regional parliament put the declaration to an anonymous vote in a plenary session. It passed with 70 of 135 MPs in favor (53 boycotted, 10 voted against and 2 abstained) on Saturday.
Catalonia held a referendum on October 1 in which 92 percent of ballots indicated 'Yes' for independence. Turnout was low with 43 percent of registered voters participating. Many 'No' voters boycotted. Videos showed some ballot boxes being seized by Spanish police.
Schleswig state court spokeswoman Frauke Holmer said after a hearing on Thursday that Carles Puigdemont must pay €75,000 ($92,000) to be released on bail.
Puigdemont has been held at a detention center in the northern German city of Neumuenster since March 25. It was not immediately clear if he had made bail.
He cannot leave the country without permission from the prosecutor, report to police weekly, and inform the state of any changes of residence.
Spain sought for Germany to extradite Puigdemont on charges of rebellion and the misuse of public funds. The court ruled it will consider his extradition on the second charge, but rebellion is not punishable under German law, noting that the Catalan independence declaration was not violent.
"Spanish justice will adopt the appropriate measures in the face of these new circumstances," a Spanish official told AP on the condition of anonymity.
The fugitive leader of the Catalan freedom movement's legal team called the rebellion charge "outrageous."
"[Puigdemont] always said that he had full confidence in the German judiciary," his Barcelona-based lawyer Jaime Alonso-Cuevillas tweeted.
News of Puigdemont's bail "will reduce tension and pressure in Catalonia" where protestors have blocked streets and clashed with police in recent days, political scientist Oriol Bartomeus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona told AFP.
After five months on the run from Spanish authorities in northern Europe, Puigdemont was detained while crossing from Denmark into Germany with the help of Spanish intelligence services.
His arrest sparked violent protests in Barcelona.
Catalonia's independence bid was met by overwhelming foreign opposition and support for the Spanish government including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to take necessary measures permitted under the constitution to prevent the separation.
Puigdemont opted for the presidency not to declare independence; instead, the regional parliament put the declaration to an anonymous vote in a plenary session. It passed with 70 of 135 MPs in favor (53 boycotted, 10 voted against and 2 abstained) on Saturday.
Catalonia held a referendum on October 1 in which 92 percent of ballots indicated 'Yes' for independence. Turnout was low with 43 percent of registered voters participating. Many 'No' voters boycotted. Videos showed some ballot boxes being seized by Spanish police.
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