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Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert has confirmed this Monday that he has been named "adviser" by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, according to Belgian newspaper L'Echo and Flemish public television station VRT.

Bekaert is a specialist in human rights and extraditions. He has previously represented alleged ETA member Natividad Jáuregui, who Belgium refused to extradite to Spain despite three arrest warrants dictated by the National Audience in 2004, 2005 and 2015. On that last occasion, the judge refused the extradition warrant believing that if Jáuregui were deported, she couldn't be guaranteed of having a fair trial.

According to a number of specialists, Belgium is one of the few countries of the EU where a citizen of another member state can request asylum.

Puigdemont travelled to Brussels this Monday with five government ministers. The trip comes the first working day after the suspension of Catalan autonomy and the same day that the Public Prosecutors' Office presents its lawsuits against the Catalan government and members of the Board of the Parliament.