It was a “cat and mouse game” that the Catalan separatist leader Puigdemont played with the police: although he was wanted with an arrest warrant, he appeared in Barcelona unmolested. He is now apparently out of the country again.
According to his party, Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont has left Spain again – after the Spanish authorities had previously tried in vain to have him arrested. Jordi Turull, general secretary of Puigdemont's Junts party, told radio station RAC1 that Puigdemont was on his way back to his Belgian exile.
Despite an arrest warrant, the separatist leader spoke to thousands of supporters in Barcelona yesterday – unmolested by the police. The 61-year-old then went into hiding. He apparently managed to escape with the help of two state police officers who were arrested.
Police chief: “I don't believe the statements”
Investigating judge Pablo Llarena demanded an explanation from the police and the government in Barcelona as to how Puigdemont was able to escape.
The police have so far only made a brief statement and contradicted Turull's account. There is no information that Puigdemont is on his way to Belgium, said the head of the Catalan police, Eduard Sallent, at a press conference at midday. Referring to Turull's comments, he added: “I do not believe the statements made by politicians that he is keen to leave Spain.”
Puigdemont party supports Sánchez – still
There has been a fierce tug-of-war over Puigdemont in Spain for years – both politically and legally. He is considered a kind of figurehead of the Catalan independence movement.
In 2017, Puigdemont was 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.
The confusion now triggered by Puigdemont is a latent danger for the stability of the minority government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The Junts party is considered to be the majority provider in the Madrid parliament. It announced a decision on whether it would continue to support the central government in Madrid.
Amnesty does not apply to Allegation of embezzlement
At the same time, she pointed out that the situation in Catalonia had “changed significantly”. Junts Secretary General Turull mentioned problems with a law that grants amnesty to those who were involved in the failed secession attempt in 2017.
As a condition for supporting Junts in the Madrid parliament, Sánchez had once pushed through the amnesty law, which would have brought legal proceedings against hundreds of separatists to a halt. Puigdemont was also set to benefit from this. However, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that not all charges against Puigdemont were lifted by the amnesty law. The arrest warrant against the separatist leader therefore remains in place. He is also accused of having enriched himself personally in connection with the attempted secession.
Despite massive controls, the police failed to catch Puigdemont.
Lawyer: Puigdemont will “never surrender”
Puigdemont had chosen the day to appear in Barcelona after seven years of exile with care. It was the day on which the socialist and anti-independence activist Salvador Illa was elected regional president of Catalonia by parliament. During his brief appearance in Barcelona, Puigdemont announced that he wanted to revive efforts to achieve Catalonia's independence from Spain.
Puigdemont's lawyer Gonzalo Boye described his client's brief appearance in Barcelona as a normal working day. Puigdemont “did his political work and went home when he was done, like everyone does,” Boye told journalists. In any case, Puigdemont will “never turn himself in.”
