- Puigdemont escapes from police and returns to Belgium
Wanted Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, according to statements by the general secretary of his party Junts, has already left Barcelona again after his surprise visit on Thursday, heading back towards Belgium. His plan is to continue working from Waterloo, general secretary Jordi Turull told Catalan radio station RAC1. Puigdemont had been in Barcelona since Tuesday evening. The Catalan police were due to hold a press conference to comment on the failed arrest of Puigdemont.
Previously, Puigdemont's lawyer Gonzalo Boye had emphasized that his client was outside Spain again. Puigdemont had lived mainly in Belgium since his flight abroad on October 30, 2017, following the failed secession of Catalonia from Spain. He had also spent time in southern France recently.
While the Spanish police continued to search for Puigdemont, Catalan singer-songwriter and head of the separatist civil movement ANC, Lluís Llach, wrote on the platform X that Puigdemont had asked him to convey that he was "healthy, safe, and above all, free".
Lawyer of Carles Puigdemont has his own view
Boye had commented rather casually the evening before about the commotion. He described his client's return to Barcelona the previous day after almost seven years in exile, his brief speech to thousands of supporters, and his subsequent disappearance under the eyes of the press and the police as a normal workday. "He did his political work and went home after work, like anyone else," he told journalists. In any case, Puigdemont "will never surrender".
Although there is now an amnesty for separatists, there is still an arrest warrant against Puigdemont, with investigating judge Pablo Llarena accusing him of having personally enriched himself in 2017. This offense is excluded from the amnesty. Llarena is now demanding an explanation from the police and the government in Barcelona on how Puigdemont managed to escape.
Puigdemont has been living mainly in Belgium since his flight abroad in 2017, following the failed secession of Catalonia from Spain. Despite the Spanish police's ongoing search, Puigdemont recently returned to Barcelona, as confirmed by his lawyer, who described it as a typical workday for his client.
