Brussels court postpones extradition hearing on ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont to December 16

Catalonia’s pro-independence former leader Carles Puigdemont said on Tuesday that a Brussels court had postponed a hearing on the arrest warrant from Spain for his extradition for December 16, Reuters reported.

Puigdemont went into self-imposed exile in Brussels after Catalonia made a failed independence bid in October 2017, when he headed the region’s government.

Spain, which previously failed to have Puigdemont extradited, renewed the attempt after its Supreme Court sentenced nine other separatist leaders this month to up to 13 years in jail for their role in the events of 2017.

A lawyer for Puigdemont, Simon Bekaert, said the legal arguments remained the same as they were just after the 2017 independence bid, when Spain put out the previous warrant for Puigdemont’s arrest, which Belgium rejected.