Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont arrested in Italy

Four years after the attempted secession of Catalonia, one of its main instigators, the pro-independence MEP and former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, was arrested in Italy on Thursday 23 September. The 58-year-old Catalan leader had been in exile in Belgium since 2017.

“President Puigdemont was arrested on his arrival in Sardinia, where he was going as an MEP”, said his lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, on Twitter, explaining that his arrest had taken place on the basis of a European arrest warrant dated October 14, 2019.

El President Puigdemont ha sido detenido a su llegada a Cerdeña donde acudía como eurodiputado; esta detención es e… https://t.co/96Iv8pyO1Z

– boye_g (@Gonzalo Boye)

Independence calls to demonstrate on Friday, a public holiday in Catalonia, in front of the Italian consulate in Barcelona, ​​began to circulate on social networks, while a former regional president, Quim Torra, described as “Catastrophic” a possible extradition of Mr. Puigdemont to Spain and called on the separatists to be “On maximum alert”. Mr. Alay, the chief of staff of Mr. Puigdemont, said that the latter had gone to Alghero to participate in a cultural festival and to meet with elected officials from the Italian island.

Parliamentary immunity suspended

The arrest in Italy of Mr. Puigdemont came a week after the resumption of negotiations between the central government and the Catalan regional executive, the objective of which is to find a solution to the political crisis in Catalonia. The European Parliament lifted the parliamentary immunity of Mr Puigdemont and two other pro-independence MEPs on March 9 by a large majority, a measure which was confirmed on July 30 by the EU General Court. But the decision of the European Parliament was the subject of an appeal whose final judgment on the merits must be pronounced. ” at a later date “. According to the interpretation of Mr Puigdemont’s lawyer, Parliament’s decision is therefore “Suspended”.

Exiled in Belgium since the failed secession attempt of October 2017 in order to escape prosecution by Spanish justice, Mr. Puigdemont had not benefited from the pardon granted at the end of June to nine separatists imprisoned in Spain, the government of Mr. Sanchez still wanting him to be tried in Spain. Mr. Puigdemont is being prosecuted for “Sedition” and “Embezzlement of public funds”. The attempted secession of Catalonia was one of the worst crises experienced by Spain since the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1975.