Ex-Catalan leader meets party members in Germany

Catalonia's former leader Carles Puigdemont on Wednesday held a working meeting here with members of his separatist party.

Puigdemont met the members of his Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia, JxS) party who were able to travel to the German capital to discuss the next steps in the process of nominating a candidate to become president of the Catalonia region in Spain's northeast, reports Efe news.

Puigdemont was recently ordered not to leave Germany while the judiciary there studies the extradition request tabled by Spain, where he is wanted to face trial for accusations of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for his alleged involvement in the October 2017 independence referendum deemed illegal by the Spanish state.

After that ballot, Puigdemont fled to Brussels and entered into self-imposed exile to avoid court orders back in Spain, where he could face decades in prison if found guilty.

In March, he was arrested in Germany after crossing the border from Denmark and spent just over a week in jail until a judge said there was not enough evidence to deport him.

--IANS

ksk/bg