The ex-Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has been arrested on Sunday near Denmark’s border in Germany
After spending 5 months in exile or self-proclaimed exile. The ex- Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has been arrested on Sunday near Denmark’s border in Germany. The arrests took place at 11:19 AM( local time), while he was returning to Belgium.
Carles Puigdemont had left Spain after the Catalan Independence Memorandum was introduced in Catalan Parliament on 27th October 2017, resulting to which he was ousted from the office of President. He was the President of Catalonia from 2016- 2017. During his tenure, the movement received momentum. To avoid any legal repercussions he left Spain for Brussels on the very next day, i,e. on 28 October 2017. But at the same time his party emerged majority in Catalan Parliament in the election of 21-D and on 1 March 2018, he was made the President of Catalonia.
Carles Puigdemont was had left Spain after the Catalan Independence Memorandum was introduced in Catalan Parliament on 27th October 2017, resulting to which he was ousted from the office of President | Image: CNNAs per the Spanish media reports, Puigdemont has been arrested in Germany near Denmark’s border while he was returning to Belgium from Finland. He will be presented before the judge on Monday to start further legal proceedings against him. The authority of German police was acting for completion of European arrest warrant, said Supreme Court of Spain. The Catalan leader has been accused of sedition, rebellion and the misuse of public money during separatist movement.
The arrest has been taken very seriously by the separatist supporters and has provoked millions of his supporters to come out in street of Barcelona for demanding his liberty. They had marched to German consulate to met their demands. They had demanded not only the freedom of Puigdemont but also the freedom of other Catalan politicians who were sentenced to prison last week. Their arrest had left the Catalonian government in a shack as all those politicians were office holders in the cabinet of Puigdemont.
On Sunday, these protesters had turned violent and had caused serious damage to the public property. According to Catalan Medical Emergency informed in its tweet more than 100 people had been injured including 23 policemen. According to the police sources informed to EFE, the demonstrations not only happened in Barcelona but also in cities like Girona, Lérida, and Tarragona.
Actualització dades 01h: el #SEM ha realitzat en total 100 atencions sanitàries per les mobilitzacions d’avui, principalment per contusions: 92 a Barcelona, totes de caràcter lleu (23 d’ells Mossos d’Esquadra) i 1 de menys greu i, per altra banda, 7 a Lleida i 1 a Tarragona lleus
— SEM. Generalitat (@semgencat) March 25, 2018
Translation: Data update 01h: the #SEM has made 100 healthcare totals for the mobilizations of today, mainly for bruises: 92 in Barcelona, all of a minor nature (23 of them Mossos d’Esquadra) and 1 of less serious ones and, On the other hand, 7 in Lleida and 1 in slight Tarragona
Read: Barcelona is not Catalonia | The Kootneeti Editorial
Now what ??
The German authority had informed the Spanish government that Puigdemont had spent his Sunday’s night in the jail of Neumünster, in the northern Hamburg. On Monday, the authority will take him to the magistrate for further legal proceedings, from there they will decide whether he will be returned to Spain or will remain in Germany.
According to the police sources informed to EFE, the demonstrations not only happened in Barcelona but also in other cities too, like Girona, Lérida, and Tarragona. | Image: BBC
His lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas has tweeted that his client was retained in a country where he is getting good treatment all the time.
1. El president Carles Puigdemont ha estat retingut a Alemanya quan creuava la frontera des de Dinamarca, de camí cap a Bèlgica des de Finlàndia.
— J. Alonso-Cuevillas (@JaumeAlonsoCuev) March 25, 2018
3. El president es dirigia a Bèlgica per posar-se, com sempre, a disposició de la justícia belga.
— J. Alonso-Cuevillas (@JaumeAlonsoCuev) March 25, 2018
Translations:
- The president Charles Puigdemont has been detained in Germany when he crossed the border from Denmark, on the way to Belgium from Finland.
- The treatment has been correct at all times. By now it is in a police station and their legal defence is already activated.
- The president was heading to Belgium to catch up, as always, at the disposal of Belgian justice.
The Justice Department of Spain, during all these months, had maintained the detention order for Puigdemont, reactivated the arrest request on last Friday after the news that he was in Finland to give a conference and meet the congressman of the country.
On the same day, Judge Paul Llarena ordered the detention of Jordi Turull, the leader that the majority of independence had planned to proclaim this Saturday in the Catalan Parliament as the new president of Catalonia.
Source: BBC Mundo Abhinav Kaushal The Kootneeti Team - Latin America & Spain Desk
