Former Catalonia leader Puigdemont to return to Belgium from Germany

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said on Wednesday that he would return to Belgium from Germany on Saturday, Reuters reports. Puigdemont was fired by Madrid in October for declaring Catalonia an independent state last year. Facing arrest in Spain, he fled to Belgium and then moved to Germany, where he was fighting extradition. Spain’s Supreme Court dropped a European arrest warrant for the former leader last Thursday. A German court had earlier refused to extradite him to face a charge of rebellion. The Spanish court also dropped European arrest warrants for five other Catalan pro-independence leaders living abroad.