Spain loses an important judiciary battle: Belgium refuses to extradite to Spain the Catalan Exiled Minister Lluís Puig

 The Belgian justice system has once again refused to extradite the former Catalan Minister of Culture, Lluís Puig. The Belgian court of appeal has refused the European arrest warrant after the court of first instance in Brussels did so last August. Belgian prosecutors accepted Lluís Puig decision, ending Spain's extradition quest, on January 8th.

Puig is subject to a European arrest warrant for misappropriation of public funds in connection with the October 2017 referendum. "No more ideological persecution and no more repression. The fight for freedom continues everywhere," the former Minister said.

The Catalan politician had already appeared before the Court of Appeal for this case last December in a hearing that lasted about four hours. At the time he was optimistic about his chances, aware that the Belgian justice system had already proved him right once. The August ruling was the first to be handed down by a Belgian court on the Euro-orders of Catalan politicians. In that case the judge considered that the Supreme Court was not competent to send the euro warrant and therefore refused extradition.