Puigdemont appears in Barcelona and speaks to supporters. Now he is threatened with arrest by the police.
After almost seven years in exile, the Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who is wanted on an arrest warrant, has returned to Spain. He appeared in Barcelona this morning accompanied by politicians from his party and spoke to supporters. “They have been persecuting us for seven years just because we wanted to give the Catalan people a voice,” said the 61-year-old. He is threatened with arrest because the judiciary accuses him of personal enrichment. According to a media report, Puigdemont is said to have rejected the police’s offer of an agreed and discreet arrest.
Puigdemont is demanding to be present at the planned election of the socialist Salvador Illa in parliament later that day. The police wanted to prevent this with a large contingent. Illa would be the first head of government in a long time to reject Catalonia’s secession from Spain. Illa’s party emerged as the strongest force from the early election in May, but needs the support of the left-wing separatist party ERC. He received this support, among other things, through concessions on financial issues and in promoting the Catalan language.
Source: Stern
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