Extradition order issued for Puigdemont and his ministers

National Court judge Carmen Lamela is taking a tough stance against the disputed independence declaration and politicians behind it, having remanded deputy regional president Oriol Junqueras and eight of his ministers in custody.

Only one, minister for business Santiago Vila, has been granted bail in the sum of €50,000, which he has now paid, enabling his release.

Puigdemont is in Belgium – believed to be in Brussels, but this remains unconfirmed – with minister for teaching Clara Ponsatí, minister for health Antoni Comín, minister for agriculture Meritxell Serret and minister for culture Lluís Puig.

Judge Lamela has accused them of 'insurrection' or 'uprising' and has followed through with the prosecution's recommendations to the letter, issuing an arrest warrant for all five after they failed to appear in court in Spain to testify on Thursday.

If Belgium agrees, they will be extradited in 10 days, but if any dispute arises, they would have to be sent back to Spain within 60 days.

A Belgian minister has said: “They will be extradited in 60 days. There's nothing else we can do.”

Although Belgium's international affairs minister Theo Francken said recently that Puigdemont could in theory seek political asylum in the country – the only European nation able to do so for an EU citizen – it appears unlikely Belgium will dispute the extradition order since this could lead to diplomatic tension between Belgium and Spain.

Francken, whose Flemish nationalist party N-VA is in favour of Flanders' secession from Belgium, governs in coalition with the country's prime minister Charles Michel.

The arrest warrant has been logged with the Sirene office, the Schengen zone's database for checking cross-border movements of criminals within the passport-free area.

Judge Lamela turned down Puigdemont's and his ministers' request to testify by video conference from Belgium, saying the usual grounds for this concession being awarded were not present in their case.

Also, various measures the court intends to take would only be possible if the five were present in Spain – measures that have not been clarified but could include their being held in custody, or allowed to remain free on the condition of handing in their passports and reporting to the court every week or two.

Lamela considers Puigdemont and his ministers went to Belgium to 'escape their legal responsibilities', given that their main residence was in Spain until October 28, when the Spanish government activated Article 155 of the Constitution and sacked the entire cabinet in Catalunya.

Belgian prosecution spokesman Eric van der Sijpt confirms the arrest warrant has been received and that the authority is 'waiting for the papers to be translated', after which they will be 'analysed'.

They cannot legally be studied until they are officially translated into one of Belgium's three official languages – Dutch, French or German – but are expected to be completed some time today (Saturday).

A 'Euro Order' against Puigdemont: What it means

The type of 'arrest warrant' issued is commonly known as a Euro Order, and is a 'milder' form of extradition request which involves 'direct cooperation' between judicial authorities in two EU member States, involving much simpler processes.

The Euro Order, which has been in use in Spain since 2004, does not require the application of the 'double incrimination' principle, meaning that if the actions of the subject of the warrant are not considered a criminal offence in the country being ordered to extradite him or her, this cannot be cited as grounds for refusing to send the person back for trial.

If Puigdemont and his ministers agreed to be sent back to Spain, this would occur within 10 days without any complications – but if, as is likely, they refused, the Council of Brussels Chamber would have 15 days to decide what to do.

Their decision would be open to appeal within 15 days, and the appeal court in the country would have another two weeks to issue a verdict.

The judge in Belgium handling the case may decide that the information contained in the arrest order is incomplete or insufficient to justify the extradition and seek additional paperwork.

Either way, the process must be completed within 60 days.

Belgian law includes a list of reasons for why the arrest order could legitimately be declined – such as grounds for believing the fundamental rights of the subject of the warrant may be breached.