The ousted Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and his four former ministers are due to appear before the Belgian court in chambers on Friday November 17th (ten days from now). This is in respect of the five European arrest warrants issued by Spain. This was stated by the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday. The hearing will take place at 2 p.m. and will be “in camera”
Earlier in the day yesterday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had indicated that the hearing would take place sometime next week, without giving an exact date. The five people wanted by the Spanish authorities turned themselves into the federal police on Sunday and were immediately imprisoned. The investigating judge decided to place them technically under arrest according to Belgian law, but to let them go free subject to conditions.
Carles Puigdemont and his four former ministers can not leave Belgium in the period up to the pending hearing without the agreement of the investigating judge, must reside at a fixed address and should appear in person in respect of all judicial procedure steps or any summons by the judicial or police authorities. These conditions do not place restricions upon the potential political activities of the individuals (a point of significance given Puigdemont’s recent campaigning activities), or indeed their interactions with journalists.
The Brussels Times
