Germany rejects Spanish medals for Catalan separatist arrest

BERLIN – Officials in Germany are refusing to let Spain give medals to German police officers who detained Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont last month.

Spain’s National Police Corps reportedly wants to award merit medals to the officers who executed a European arrest warrant for Puigdemont as he drove into Germany from Denmark.

But the government of Schleswig Holstein state, where the March 25 arrest occurred, say they won’t give Spain the names of the officers involved.

State government spokesman Peter Hoever told the dpa news agency Friday that the police officers “only did their jobs.”

The Puigdemont is currently on bail in Germany awaiting extradition to Spain, where authorities accuse him of rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia’s independence from Spain.