Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont leaves Spain after avoiding arrest, ally says
- Puigdemont, who appeared at a rally in Barcelona despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Spain, is on his way back to Belgium
Jordi Turull told RAC1 radio that he did not know whether Puigdemont had already reached his home in Waterloo, where he has lived for seven years in self-imposed exile since leading a failed bid for Catalonia’s secession in 2017.
He is wanted in Spain on suspicion of embezzlement related to a 2017 independence referendum, ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis.
“He did not come to be arrested in Spain but to exercise his political rights.”
Turull said Puigdemont had initially planned to attend an investiture vote in the regional parliament to elect a new leader of Catalonia.
Instead of walking from the rally to parliament, Puigdemont got into a car because of security concerns, and then decided at short notice to leave because he believed he would not be allowed to enter the parliament area, Turull said.