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Ousted Catalan leader freed on bail in Belgium

A Belgian judge released Catalonia's sacked leader Carles Puigdemont and four ex-ministers with conditions on Sunday after Spain issued an EU warrant for their arrest, prosecutors said.

Published: 6 November 2017 09:53 CET

Ousted Catalan leader freed on bail in Belgium

A man believed to be Carles Puigdemont gestures inside the public prosecutor's office in Brussels. Photo: AFP

Puigdemont and four of his former ministers turned themselves in to Belgian police on Sunday morning and they were released around 15 hours later.

READ MORE: Puigdemont turns himself in to Belgian police

“The request made this afternoon by the Brussels' Prosecutor's Office for the provisional release of all persons sought has been granted by the investigative judge,” said the statement by the prosecutor's office.

The five including Puigdemont are all forbidden to leave Belgium without the judge's permission, must give the address of where they are staying, and obey all court and police summons, the statement said.

“The decision of the judge cannot be appealed,” it said.

The five Catalans will appear before a Belgian court within the next 15 days, the statement added.

ANALYSIS: How ousted Catalan leader became Spain's most wanted

Puigdemont arrives to address media representatives at The Press Club in Brussels on October 31st. Photo: AFP

A white van believed to be carrying Puigdemont left the Brussels prosecutor's office shortly before midnight on Sunday, AFP reporters saw.

Puigdemont and some of his ministers fled to Belgium last Monday after Spain dismissed the Catalan executive and imposed direct rule on the semi-autonomous region following the declaration of independence by the parliament there last month.

Spain issued a warrant for their arrest on Friday after they failed to appear in court to face accusations of rebellion and sedition for calling an independence referendum.

Swiss decision to purchase US fighter jets could force second referendum

Swiss fighter jets. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP

Switzerland’s government on Wednesday backed the purchase of 36 F-35A fighter jets from Lockheed Martin to replace its fleet and five Patriot air defence units from fellow US manufacturer Raytheon.

Switzerland’s current air defence equipment will reach the end of its service life in 2030 and has been undergoing a long and hotly-contested search for replacements.

“The Federal Council is confident that these two systems are the most suitable for protecting the Swiss population from air threats in the future,” the government said in a statement.

‘No Trump fighter jets’: Swiss don’t want to buy American planes

The decision will now be put to the Swiss parliament — and also risks being challenged at the ballot box, with left-wingers and an anti-militarist group looking to garner enough signatures to trigger a public vote.

The F-35A was chosen ahead of the Airbus Eurofighter; the F/A-18 Super Hornet by Boeing; and French firm Dassault’s Rafale.

For the ground-based air defence (GBAD) system, Patriot was selected ahead of SAMP/T by France’s Eurosam.

“An evaluation has revealed that these two systems offer the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost,” the government statement said. Switzerland is famously neutral. However, its long-standing position is one of armed neutrality and the landlocked European country has mandatory conscription for men.

“A fleet of 36 aircraft would be large enough to cover Switzerland’s airspace protection needs over the longer term in a prolonged situation of heightened tensions,” the government said.

“The air force must be able to ensure that Swiss airspace cannot be used by foreign parties in a military conflict.”

Long path to decision

Switzerland began to seek replacements for its ageing fleet of fighter jets more than a decade ago, but the issue has become caught up in a political battle in the wealthy Alpine nation.

The Swiss government has long argued for the need to quickly replace its 30 or so F/A-18 Hornets, which will reach the end of their lifespan in 2030, and the F-5 Tigers, which have been in service for four decades and are not equipped for night flights.

In 2014, the country looked set to purchase 22 Gripen E fighter jets from Swedish group Saab, only to see the public vote against releasing the funds needed to go forward with the multi-billion-dollar deal.

Bern launched a new selection process four years later, and a referendum last year to release six billion Swiss francs ($6.5 billion) for the purchase of the fighters of the government’s choice squeezed through with 50.1 percent of voters in favour.

During the referendum campaign, the government warned that without a swift replacement for its fleet, “Switzerland will no longer be in a position to protect and even less defend its airspace by 2030”.

Currently, the fleet does not have the capacity to support ground troops for reconnaissance missions or to intervene against ground targets.

Meanwhile Switzerland’s current GBAD system is also old and lacks the capacity to meet the widening spectrum of modern threats.

The military currently relies on a range of Rapier and Stinger short-range missiles that have been in service since 1963.

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