Photo: Manaure Quintero Agence France-Presse Carles Puigdemont gave a brief speech near the Catalan Parliament on Thursday, in front of thousands of supporters, before discreetly disappearing.
Agence France-Presse in Barcelona
Posted at 9:57 a.m.
- Europe
The day after his incredible lightning reappearance in Barcelona, the Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont is, according to his relatives, out of Spain on Friday, after heading to Belgium, a new leak which raises questions and criticism about the system put in place to to challenge him.
“He is returning to Waterloo,” assured Friday morning on Catalan radio Rac1 Jordi Turull, the secretary general of his party Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), adding that he did not know if he had already arrived in this Belgian town near Brussels, where he spent most of his seven years in exile.
“I do not rule out the fact that this gentleman is still in Barcelona,” said the chief commissioner of the Catalan police, Eduard Sallent. “Until we have proof that he is outside the jurisdiction of the Mossos d’Esquadra, we will continue to search for him. »
Carles Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, had also previously declared on the same radio that his client was “outside” Spain, assuring that Carles Puigdemont himself would speak “today or tomorrow”.
Carles Puigdemont, who fled in 2017 to escape prosecution for his role in the failed secession attempt of the rich northeastern region of Spain, is still subject to an arrest warrant in Spain, despite the amnesty law negotiated by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in exchange for Junts' support for his government.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000A central figure in Catalan independence, Mr. Puigdemont announced his return to Catalonia on Thursday — where he was in fact on Tuesday, according to Mr. Turull — to take part in the investiture vote for the new president of the region.< /p>
He finally made do with a brief speech near Parliament in front of thousands of supporters, before slipping away discreetly, managing to thwart the police operation that was supposed to allow his arrest.
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“Unqualifiable”
This new leak has sparked an avalanche of criticism since Thursday about the system put in place to try to arrest him.
As early as Thursday, voices began to be raised to question in particular the role of the Catalan police, whose actions had already been called into question at the time of the 2017 crisis, and two members of which were arrested on suspicion of having helped the independence activist to flee.
On Friday, Judge Pablo Llarena, who is investigating the case that has led to Carles Puigdemont still being subject to an arrest warrant in Spain, officially requested explanations from the Ministry of the Interior and the Mossos, whose leaders defended their actions at length in a press conference.
“At no time […] did we negotiate or agree anything with Carles Puigdemont or his entourage,” insisted Eduard Sallent, the chief commissioner of the Mossos, assuring that everything was ready to question the Catalan leader near the Parliament, where he ultimately never went.
“The events happened very quickly,” the police officer also argued, recalling that upon his arrival, Carles Puigdemont was “surrounded by a crowd of people and authorities from this country (Catalonia, editor's note), people who hold public office […] with the aim of obstructing the action of the police.”
He left in a car that the Mossos quickly lost track of, and was then searched for by a large police force deployed in Barcelona and Catalonia.
“We had drawn up a plan in which Mr. Puigdemont really wanted to participate in the investiture session, an element that, in light of our investigations and the events that took place, has now clearly been ruled out,” the police officer added.
At the national level, the new episode in the Puigdemont saga aroused the ire of the right-wing and far-right opposition, who castigated the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
< p>“What happened yesterday is unspeakable and cannot go unpunished. […] Faced with this farce, the government cannot continue to take a vacation by making fun of the Spanish people,” launched on X the leader of the Popular Party (right) Alberto Nunez Feijoo, calling in particular for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior.