"I am Prepared to Go to Prison if Belgium Decides to Extradite Me," says Puigdemont

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has every confidence in European justice, and particularly in the Belgian one, he said Sunday during a press conference in Geneva, where he was visiting, The Brussels Times writes.

He also confirmed that he was prepared to go to prison, should Belgium, his place of exile, decide to extradite him, and to hand him over to Spanish authorities.

"I have hope and great confidence in European justice, and in that of the European countries. I shall respect its decisions (…), for I have great confidence in the separation of power and in the guarantees of a just treatment, which I was unable to be granted in Spain."

The former Catalan President explained that he was not clandestinely in Belgium, a country to which he had fled in October with four former members of the deposed regional Government, and that he was "at the disposition of the authorities." The Spanish judiciary has accused them of rebellion and sedition.

When questioned on the issue, Mr. Puigdemont says he is ready to go to prison. "Yes, since I have been at the disposition of the Belgian justice, and there is a possibility they might extradite me." However, he did advise that, should he effectively find himself behind bars, it would be "a serious error, which would make the situation even worse."

Moreover, Carles Puigdemont has confirmed that he had no intention of requesting political asylum in Switzerland, as some had speculated, and that he intended to come back to Belgium Wednesday, after his trip to Switzeland. "I am not going to request asylum in Switzerland, and I am not going to do it either in Belgium. I am not a fugitive; I stand fully within European legality", he stressed.