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The leaders of Puigdemont’s party, Together for Catalonia, had already confirmed that the independence leader was no longer in Spain and would return to Waterloo, the Belgian city where he has lived since 2017, fleeing Spanish justice.
Albert Jia
Catalan independence activist Carles Puigdemont said on Friday he was in Belgium after going to Barcelona on Thursday and again evading police, despite being subject to an arrest warrant in Spain.
“Today I am in Waterloo after a few very difficult days,” Puigdemont wrote on the social networking site X.
The leaders of Puigdemont’s party, Together for Catalonia, had already confirmed that the independence leader was no longer in Spain and would return to Waterloo, the Belgian city where he has lived since 2017, fleeing Spanish justice.
Catalan police later said they did not trust the statements made by JxCat leaders and said they continued to search for Puigdemont within Catalonia..
In the text posted on the social network.
Puigdemont also criticizes the “witch hunt” in which he believes many people are targeted simply because they were seen alongside him. In Barcelona and the way in which members of the Catalan police (Mossos d’Esquadra) are “punished” “for their civic commitment”.
Catalan police themselves have arrested at least three members of the Mossos d’Esquadra on suspicion of helping Puigdemont reach central Barcelona and then escape without being arrested on Thursday.
Amnesty International denied this.
The Spanish Supreme Court, in a first ruling, rejected the amnesty granted to the independents by Carles Puigdemont, which was approved by the Spanish Parliament, so Former regional government president remains target of arrest warrant in SpainHowever, he was able to appear publicly in Barcelona on Thursday without being arrested.
After addressing more than 3,000 people gathered in a downtown square from the stage, the separatist leader disappeared.
Puigdemont, who was elected as a deputy in the Catalan elections on May 12, had announced that he would attend the parliamentary session to be held on Thursday, which he called to elect the socialist Salvador Illa as the new head of the Catalan government.
Police had set up a security perimeter around parliament, with a police barrier that Puigdemont would have to cross to reach the building, but he never reached that location, where he was expected to be detained.
The Mossos d’Esquadra then activated “Operation Jaula”, a security apparatus with road surveillance to try to locate him, but without success.
In the face of criticism, the Mossos family issued a statement on Thursday confirming that they had tried to stop Puigdemont on the streets of Barcelona, but had been unable to do so because the priority was to avoid disturbances, stressing that the politician was always surrounded by people, thousands of people and authorities.
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