Catalan ex-leader Puigdemont hopes to return to Belgium

BERLIN – Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday he would remain in Berlin while a German court considers whether to extradite him to Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds but he hoped to return to live in Belgium eventually.

A German court on Thursday rejected an extradition request for Puigdemont on the more serious charge of rebellion for his role in the campaign for the region's independence that could have resulted in a decades-long jail sentence in Spain.

"My wish is to return to Belgium. But only after the end of the proceedings here in Germany, not before," he told reporters in Berlin.

"My plan is to remain of course in Berlin. It is my residence now until the end of this process," he said.