Police in Barcelona are attempting to find the separatist former chief of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, who made a dramatic return to Spain after a seven-year exile regardless of dealing with an impressive arrest warrant.
The Mossos d’Esquadra – Catalan police – arrange roadblocks inside Barcelona and main out of the town as a part of Operation Jaula – or “cage” – aimed toward discovering Mr Puigdemont, who was seen leaving a rally this morning in a automobile.
The operation was reportedly ended just a few hours later, though Mr Puigdemont doesn’t seem to have been situated but.
For a lot of the previous a number of years he has lived in Brussels, after police indicted him on fees linked to a failed bid for Catalan independence in 2017.
On the time, Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders together with Mr Puigdemont organised a referendum – which was dominated unlawful by Spain’s constitutional court docket – and later declared independence for the area. Madrid imposed direct rule on the area shortly after and Mr Puigdemont fled to Belgium.
On Thursday morning, Mr Puigdemont briefly addressed tons of of supporters who gathered close to the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, shortly forward of the anticipated investiture of a brand new head of the Catalan authorities.
He shouted “Lengthy dwell a free Catalonia!” earlier than saying he had returned “to remind you that we’re nonetheless right here”.
“Holding a referendum just isn’t and can by no means be against the law,” he added.
Mr Puigdemont then disappeared.
Many have been anticipating him to show up contained in the parliament constructing in time for the investiture ceremony at 10:00 (08:00 GMT), however he was nowhere to be seen and his whereabouts stay unclear.
Late on Thursday one in every of his allies mentioned he had spoken with Mr Puigdemont since his escape.
In a submit on X LluÃs Llach, the president of pro-independence organisation Catalan Nationwide Meeting, mentioned Mr Puigdemont was “wholesome, protected and above all, free”.
Mr Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, made related remarks on Thursday night, as he instructed native broadcaster TV3 “[Puigdemont] went house, the place he has his administrative center” – however didn’t specify the place which may be.
A Catalan police officer was detained on suspicion of serving to Mr Puigdemont flee, a spokesperson for the Mossos d’Esquadra mentioned.
The officer allegedly owns a automobile by which Mr Puigdemont escaped after making his deal with, Spanish media mentioned. Police later detained a second officer.
Roadblocks have been arrange round Barcelona for a time on Thursday morning and Spanish TV additionally confirmed photos from La Jonquera, a municipality bordering France, the place police could possibly be seen stopping vehicles and checking the boots.
Puigdemont ally Aleix Sarri criticised the police operation on X, saying: “Lots of of policemen encircle Barcelona to arrest President Puigdemont. A hunt paid with public cash to please the powers in Madrid. This isn’t what a democracy does.”
Police reportedly used pepper spray to disperse Puigdemont supporters who gathered close to the parliament.
Ignacio Garriga of the far-right Vox celebration, which strongly opposes independence for Catalonia, mentioned Vox would “do all the things obligatory to make sure that Puigdemont is arrested”.
Some Spanish commentators are puzzled at the truth that police have been unable to arrest Mr Puigdemont regardless of him saying he would return to Catalonia earlier this week.
On Wednesday, he posted a video on X saying that he had “began the return journey from exile” and added that his arrest would have been unlawful and arbitrary.
There look like a number of motives behind Carles Puigdemont’s return to Spain.
Firstly, he desires to strain the authorities into making use of the nation’s new amnesty regulation – which withdraws authorized motion in opposition to Catalan nationalists – to him, after the supreme court docket excluded him from its software on technical grounds.
He additionally goals to disrupt the investiture of Socialist Salvador Illa as the brand new Catalan president in the present day.
The previous Spanish well being minister would turn out to be the area’s first non-nationalist chief since 2010.
Equally vital for Mr Puigdemont is to say himself and his Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) celebration as the primary pro-independence power.
He’s eager to forged his separatist rival, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), as being complicit with Spanish unionism due to its settlement to help Mr Illa’s investiture.
Till a brand new native authorities is in place, ERC continues to be answerable for the Catalan police power, making the previous regional president’s return notably uncomfortable for the celebration.
