Catalan Separatist Leader Flees to Belgium Following Evasion of Arrest in Spain
Carles Puigdemont was on his way back to Waterloo, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since a failed bid for independence seven years ago.
Catalonian separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was bound for Belgium on Friday, having evaded Spanish police after speaking at a rally in Barcelona despite a warrant out for his arrest.
Jordi Turull, general secretary of the pro-Catalan independence party Junts per Catalunya (Junts), which means “Together for Catalonia,” told RAC1 radio that he didn’t know whether Puigdemont had yet reached Waterloo, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since leading a failed bid for the region’s secession in 2017.
Puigdemont’s brief appearance in his home country and subsequent escape has angered conservative opponents already upset about Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s amnesty deal for secessionists in exchange for their support of his minority government.
However, Sanchez’s gamble may not pay off, as Turull says his party is reconsidering its support, because the Supreme Court found the amnesty law did not apply to Puigdemont and two others, who are charged with embezzlement.
He said Junts’s backing would have “a very narrow path forward or no path at all” unless the Madrid government pressed for application of the amnesty law to all those charged.
“The situation has changed a lot because of the context and the parameters that made our deal possible, and we have to see whether it makes sense,” Turull said.
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The charge against Puigdemont is related to a 2017 independence referendum that was deemed illegal by Madrid.
The separatist leader argues that the vote was legitimate and, as a result, the charges that followed have no basis.
Sanchez’s government in the capital has remained silent on the topic and declined to respond to the Junts leader’s comments and criticism from the opposition.
Presidency Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters that the operation had been in the hands of the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra.
“They are the police force responsible for carrying out the orders of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Confirmation Ceremony
Turull, who was pardoned in 2021 after spending three years behind bars for rebellion, sedition, and embezzlement over the secession bid, said Puigdemont had planned to attend a vote in Catalonia’s parliament to confirm Socialist Salvador Illa as the new leader of the regional government.
“He did not come to be arrested in Spain but to exercise his political rights,” Turull added.
However, security concerns prompted Puigdemont to get into a car and speed away at short notice, rather than walk from the rally to the Catalan parliament as planned.
Turull said Puigdemont believed he would not be allowed into the parliament, adding that the exiled leader had not wanted to give the media an opportunity to take photographs of him being arrested.
Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, also told RAC1 radio that Puigdemont had left Spain and said that he would make a public statement “in the coming days.”
The separatist leader has dedicated his career to the decades-old goal of separating Catalonia from Spain and creating a new nation on the Iberian Peninsula.
However, Puigdemont’s strident approach to independence over the years has brought not only political conflict with Madrid but also sparked division among separatists within Catalonia.
Police Facing Questions
Meanwhile, the Mossos d’Esquadra and the administration in Madrid are facing questions over how they failed to arrest one of Spain’s most recognizable fugitives when he was in plain sight on Spanish soil.
On Friday, the Supreme Court judge leading the investigation against Puigdemont for his role in the 2017 secession bid called on the Mossos to explain their failure.
Judge Pablo Llarena also requested explanations from the national Interior Ministry, including any orders to monitor the borders.
Reuters contributed to this report.
