Belgian court frees Puigdemont

Ousted Catalan leader must remain in Belgium unless permitted to leave by a judge.

A man believed to be Carles Puigdemont gestures inside the public prosecutor's office in Brussels, on November 5, 2017 | Nicolas Maeterlin/AFP via Getty Images

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and four other ousted regional leaders have been granted conditional release in Belgium and must appear in court within 15 days, Belgian prosecutors said in a statement Monday.

“The investigating judge decided to release the five persons under conditions,” the statement said.

The five former members of the Catalan government, who turned themselves in to Belgian police Sunday after Spain issued a European Arrest Warrant for them, are forbidden from leaving Belgium without a judge’s permission. They must also attend all future proceedings and summons by the Belgian police or judicial authorities.

“Free and without [needing] bail, our thoughts are with our colleagues unjustly imprisoned by a state far from democratic principles,” Puigdemont tweeted Monday, referring to the eight former Catalan government officials detained without bail pending investigation in Spain.

They face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds over their role in a separatist push, including an October 1 independence referendum deemed illegal by Spanish authorities and voting to declare independence on October 27.

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