MADRID: A Spanish judge on Thursday (Jul 19) dropped European and international arrest warrants for deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and other separatist leaders who fled abroad, the Supreme Court said, which means they no longer face extradition.In a court ruling, Pablo Llarena said he had taken the decision after a German court agreed to extradite Puigdemont, but only for misuse of public funds and not on the more serious charge of rebellion.This means that Puigdemont, who is currently in Germany awaiting extradition proceedings, and five other Catalans who are scattered in Scotland, Belgium and Switzerland, are free to move from country to country.The Spanish arrest warrant, however, remains open which means they will be detained if they try to come back.Puigdemont is one of 13 separatist leaders accused of the most serious charge rebellion over their role in Catalonia's failed secession bid last October.Nine are in custody in Spain awaiting trial.Of those currently … [Read more...] about Spain drops international arrest warrants for Puigdemont, other Catalans
The european arrest warrant
Germany issues international arrest warrant for top Assad officer
World German prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for the head of the Syrian Airforce Intelligence on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday, citing German security officials. 08 Jun 2018 10:35PM Bookmark BERLIN: German prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for the head of the Syrian Airforce Intelligence on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday, citing German security officials.Jamil Hassan is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's senior lieutenants. Der Spiegel said prosecutors accuse Hassan of overseeing some of the most horrific crimes committed by Syrian intelligence agencies, including torture, rape and murder of "at least hundreds of people between 2011 and 2013."A spokeswoman for the GBA Federal Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the Spiegel report.But a Syrian human rights lawyer based in Germany who works with the … [Read more...] about Germany issues international arrest warrant for top Assad officer
Puigdemont slips out of Finland despite arrest warrant: MP
HELSINKI: Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont on Saturday (Mar 24) appeared to have foiled attempts by Finnish police to arrest him under a European arrest warrant as an MP said he had already left the country.Puigdemont, who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium, had been visiting Finland since Thursday for talks with lawmakers.Finnish MP Mikko Karna, one of the ousted leader's hosts in Finland, said he had "received information that Carles Puigdemont departed from Finland yesterday evening by unknown means to Belgium," in a statement posted on Twitter on Saturday afternoon."Puigdemont confirmed to me today that in Belgium he will fully cooperate with authorities," Karna wrote.The lawmaker had told media earlier that he had not been in touch with Puigdemont since Friday.Puigdemont is wanted by Spain on charges of "rebellion" and "sedition".Spain on Friday also issued international arrest warrants for five other separatists, including four former ministers who are also in … [Read more...] about Puigdemont slips out of Finland despite arrest warrant: MP
Finnish police ask Spain for info on Puigdemont arrest warrant
HELSINKI: Finnish police said Saturday they had requested more information from Spanish authorities before acting on an arrest warrant issued against Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont, though it was unclear whether he was actually in Finland. Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium, visited the Nordic country on Thursday and Friday to meet Finnish lawmakers and hold a seminar at the University of Helsinki. He had been due to leave Finland on Saturday afternoon, but his exact whereabouts were unknown. The Finnish MP who organised Puigdemont's visit, Mikko Karna, told media he had not been in touch with him since Friday. A Spanish judge on Friday issued international arrest warrants against Puigdemont and four others involved in the region's independence movement. Finnish police told AFP on Saturday they had received the arrest warrant, but would not act on it until Finnish prosecutors had received the requested information. "At the request of our prosecutor, we have … [Read more...] about Finnish police ask Spain for info on Puigdemont arrest warrant
Syrian Kurd leader arrested in Prague at Turkey’s behest
ISTANBUL - Authorities in the Czech Republic detained one of the most prominent leaders of the Syrian Kurds at the request of Turkey, officials said Sunday, as Ankara pushes a military operation against Kurdish militia in northern Syria. Syrian Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim, shown at a 2015 press conference in Paris, has reportedly been detained on a Turkish warrant in Prague Saleh Muslim, long a figurehead of the Syrian Kurdish movement, was detained on Saturday night at an upmarket Prague hotel, Czech and Turkish officials said.Turkish officials said Ankara was already working to have Muslim, the former co-chair of the main Syrian Kurdish political movement, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), extradited to face terror charges in Turkey.The arrest comes as Turkey presses a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia -- the military wing of the PYD -- in the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.Ankara sees the YPG and PYD as the Syrian branch of the … [Read more...] about Syrian Kurd leader arrested in Prague at Turkey’s behest