Spain drops extradition request for ex-Catalan President Puigdemont

July 19 (UPI) -- Spain's high court on Thursday withdrew European arrest warrants for former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and five of his aides related to their roles in last year's independence referendum.

The move came one week after a German court ruled that while Puigdemont could be extradited to face corruption charges, the country could not force him to Spain to face rebellion and sedition charges.

Puigdemont fled Spain after facing criminal charges for declaring independence from Spain after a referendum.

Though the Supreme Court dropped the extradition request, Puigdemont and the others still face prosecution should they cross the border into Spain again. The five others are in Belgium, Scotland or Switzerland.

In the ruling, Judge Pablo Llarena said the German court showed a "lack of commitment" over the accusations against Puigdemont, whose actions he said could have "broken Spain's constitutional order."

German police arrested Puigdemont in March while he crossed through the country on his way from Finland to Belgium, where he was living in self-imposed exile after the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence from Spain in October.

In April, a German court Granted his release on about $90,000 bail.