The separatist Puigdemont is currently causing a lot of trouble in Spain: Prime Minister Sánchez could lose support. And the police have to explain why they were unable to catch the Catalan who was wanted on an arrest warrant.
The police in Spain are continuing to search for the Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont. The head of the Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra, Eduard Sallent, does not believe the statement made by his party and his lawyer that Puigdemont is no longer in the country.
At a press conference, Sallent also admitted to shortcomings. Puigdemont, who is wanted on an arrest warrant, was able to appear in public in front of thousands of supporters in the Catalan regional capital of Barcelona yesterday – unmolested by the police. Police chief Sallent said the most important goals were to maintain public order and to ensure the election of a new Catalan prime minister in the parliament in Barcelona. These tasks had been fulfilled. Why Puigdemont's arrest was not successful still needs to be analyzed in more detail.
In addition to the Catalan police, the Spanish border police are also under criticism. Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena demanded information from the Interior Ministry in Madrid about how Puigdemont was able to evade border guards.
Sallent admitted mistakes during the press conference. Everything happened very quickly and safety was the top priority.
“This seemed to us the most convenient place for an arrest”
Sallent confirmed that the police had assumed in their planning that Puigdemont would go directly to parliament on Thursday – as he had repeatedly announced. That is why the appropriate police forces were stationed there. “This seemed to us to be the best place for an arrest,” said Sallent.
In fact, Puigdemont gave a short speech on a stage in front of the Arc de Triomf, which is only a few hundred meters from the parliament. His supporters then marched to the parliament, but Puigdemont did not. He was taken to a vehicle by helpers behind the stage and driven away.
“It all happened very quickly and our officers were unable to intervene because of a wall of people,” said Sallent. Puigdemont was accompanied by representatives of the state, parliament and many supporters during his brief appearance, which made it even more difficult to arrest him. In addition, two police officers helped Puigdemont, who were later arrested.
Junts party wants to reconsider cooperation with Sánchez
Pressure is also growing on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called on Sánchez to cancel his summer vacation and explain why Puigdemont, who is wanted on an arrest warrant, was able to give a speech despite a large police presence.
And Puigdemont's Junts party announced that it would reassess its cooperation with Sánchez's minority government. However, the Prime Minister is dependent on their votes in order to gain a majority in the Madrid National Parliament. So far, the seven Junts MPs have tolerated the Sánchez government.
Arrest warrant despite Amnesty law
Puigdemont was formerly regional president of Catalonia, the economically strong region in northeastern Spain. And he played a key role in an independence referendum that was held in October 2017 despite a ban by the Spanish central government. He evaded arrest at the time by fleeing to Belgium, where he has lived most of the time since then.
As a condition for supporting Junts in the Madrid parliament, Sánchez had once pushed through the amnesty law, which would have ended legal proceedings against hundreds of separatists. Puigdemont was also supposed to benefit from this. However, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that not all charges against Puigdemont were lifted by the amnesty law.
He is also accused of personal enrichment. In connection with the independence referendum, he is said to have embezzled public funds for his own benefit by financing his illegal political goals with public money instead of paying for them out of his own pocket. Therefore, despite the amnesty, an arrest warrant remains in place against Puigdemont.
