Fugitive Catalan separatist leader Puigdemont in Belgium after evading arrest

NEWS WIRES

9 August 2024 at 4:34 pm·1-min read

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont left Spain for Belgium on Friday after appearing at a rally in Barcelona, despite a warrant for his arrent in Spain, his party said.

Fugitive Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said Friday he had left Spain for Belgium after briefly addressing supporters in Barcelona, sparking a row over how he evaded arrest again.

"Today I am in Waterloo after an extremely difficult few days," he wrote in Catalan on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the Belgian town where he has spent most of the past seven years.

Puigdemont, who fled abroad after leading a failed 2017 independence bid for Catalonia, defied an arrest warrant to return to Spain on Thursday.

He delivered a speech to thousands gathered at the Catalan regional parliament in Barcelona before slipping away.

The 61-year-old had been expected to try to enter the parliament building for a vote to pick a new leader for the wealthy northeastern region. Instead he disappeared into the crowd.

Officers had planned to arrest him "at the most opportune time so as not to generate public disorder", the force said.

(AFP)

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