This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
Belgium is poised to extradite former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain, where he faces charges related to a banned 2017 referendum. The move comes after Belgian prosecutors advised a court to honour Madrid's request.
According to Puigdemont's legal team, the next hearing in the case has been set for December 16, after the defence asked for more time to respond in writing to the Spanish government's claims against him.
"The Belgian prosecutor agrees with this demand for extradition and of course we will discuss this and we will fight this," lawyer Paul Bekaert told reporters.
Puigdemont, who served as president of the Catalan region between January 2016 and October 2017, has expressed confidence in the "independence and professionalism" of the Belgian court.
His latest arrest warrant was issued by Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena shortly after his court convicted several other Catalan separatist leaders on similar charges.
