A German court ruled to allow Catalonian separatist leader Carles Puigdemont free on bail, paving the way for his extradition to Spain to stand trial for his role in last autumn’s independence drive.
But the German court said Thursday that it would permit Mr. Puigdemont’s extradition only on the lesser charges of misuse of public funds and not for Spain’s more serious charge of rebellion against the state.
The court will decide within days over extradition on the lesser charge. His lawyers have said they will appeal any extradition order.
The court in the German region of Schleswig-Holstein—where Mr. Puigdemont was detained last month after a Spanish court issued an international arrest warrant—ruled against an earlier recommendation by German prosecutors that Mr. Puigdemont be extradited to Spain on all of the charges brought by a Spanish court.
The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy didn’t immediately react to the ruling. While it would welcome the extradition of a separatist leader who Madrid says violated Spain’s constitution, the German court’s refusal to consider extradition on the rebellion charge will be a blow to the central government as well as judicial authorities.
It also suggests that Mr. Puigdemont will face lesser charges than other former members of his government, who are set to stand trial in Spain for allegedly rebelling against the Spanish state for their unauthorized independence referendum. Weeks after the vote, the separatists declared the wealthy Spanish region whose capital city is Barcelona independent. Madrid responded by imposing direct rule over Catalonia.
Many separatists had hoped Mr. Puigdemont would avoid extradition altogether and be able to continue trying to drum up international support for the Catalan separatist movement abroad. The German court’s dismissal of the rebellion charge could jolt the Catalan separatist movement with some momentum. It is unlikely, however, to attempt another unilateral declaration of independence in the medium term.
Spanish courts had withdrawn an earlier international arrest warrant for Mr. Puigdemont when he was in Belgium precisely to avoid the contradiction of Mr. Puigdemont facing charges for misuse of public funds—which carries a prison sentence of up to eight years—and some of his former colleagues facing charges of rebellion, which carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years. Spanish prosecutors allege Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist leaders used public funds to pay for the unlawful independence referendum.
Schleswig Holstein’s Higher Regional Court argued that the former Catalan leader cannot be extradited for rebellion because the equivalent offence in the German penal code—high treason—would require more serious allegations of incitement to violence than those presented by the Spanish state.
The German court rejected the allegation by Mr. Puigdemont’s lawyers that he would face political persecution if he stands trial in Spain. Mr. Puigdemont fled Spain last autumn and has been living in Belgium since then in defiance of Spanish courts.
Write to Jeannette Neumann at jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
Appeared in the April 6, 2018, print edition as 'Catalan Separatist Faces Extradition.'