Belgian Court Upholds Decision Not To Extradite Former Catalan Minister

The Brussels Court of Appeals has rejected a request from the Spanish Supreme Court to extradite former minister in the Catalan regional gov't Lluis Puig on charges of embezzlement in relation to the organisation of the illegal independence referendum conducted in the autonomous community in October 2017 that saw millions take part and violent outbreaks across the region.

• This is the second request to have been rejected by Belgian courts. The Spanish authorities have a final recourse in appealing to the Belgian Court of Cassation, the country's supreme court.
• Puig is not the only former Catalan minister living in exile in Belgium, with former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont serving as a Spanish MEP while not living there.
• Relations between Belgium and Spain remain somewhat strained over the presence of senior Catalan officials who are subject to arrest warrants in Spain and the percieved lack of assistance on behalf of Belgian authorities in extraditing them for trial.