Puigdemont returns to Spain despite the threat of arrest
The investiture of the new Catalan regional president is scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 AM. The leading candidate is former health minister and socialist chief Salvador Illa. Before the session, Puigdemont's party Juntos per Catalunya (JxCat) has planned a welcome party for their former leader and ex-regional president in front of the parliamentary building.
"Under normal democratic conditions, it would be unnecessary and irrelevant for a member like me to announce my intention to participate in this session," said Puigdemont in a statement released on Wednesday, where he was seen in front of a Catalan and an EU flag. "But Spain does not have normal democratic conditions."
On the one hand, supporters of Catalan independence face "a long persecution" due to their initiative for a banned referendum on the secession of Catalonia from Spain, said Puigdemont. On the other hand, the highest court of the country refuses to comply with the approved and enacted amnesty law.
"This challenge must be answered and overcome," said the Catalan politician. "Therefore, we have undertaken the return from exile." Given the "rebellious attitude of some judges of the highest court," he and his comrades "cannot remain silent."
Although Spain's highest court dismissed the 'terrorism' case against Puigdemont due to formal errors in early July, the Spanish justice system still pursues the independence activist for embezzlement of funds and the charge of sedition.
A few days earlier, the highest court denied Puigdemont a pardon, citing the charge of embezzlement, and kept the 2017 arrest warrant against him in force. Puigdemont appealed against this decision.
The amnesty was intended to benefit Catalan activists who were prosecuted by the Spanish justice system after the failed secession attempt in 2017. Puigdemont was the leading initiator of the then referendum, which plunged the country into one of its most severe political crises. After his flight into exile, Puigdemont was elected as an MEP in 2019. He has been living in Belgium recently.
The promise of the amnesty law was a prerequisite for independence supporters in the Madrid parliament to enable socialist Pedro Sánchez a second term as Spain's prime minister in November.
"Despite the amnesty law being approved and enacted, other Catalan activists continue to face persecution for their involvement in the secession movement."
"In the face of this, other former leaders like Puigdemont feel compelled to return to Spain to respond to the charges against them."
