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FORMER CATALAN PRESIDENT Carles Puigdemont is to appear in court today following his arrest in Germany which triggered a wave of protests in Catalonia where thousands of separatists faced off with police.
German police arrested Puigdemont yesterday, after he crossed the border from Denmark, under a European warrant issued by Spain.
The arrest comes five months after Puigdemont went on the run as Spanish prosecutors sought to charge him with sedition and rebellion in the wake of a vote by the Catalan parliament to declare independence.
According to his lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas, he was on his way to Belgium, where he fled after Spanish authorities moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia.
Puigdemont will be brought before a German judge today to confirm his identity and a court will then decide if he is to remain in custody pending extradition proceedings.
Clashes erupted as protesters took to the streets in Catalonia following his arrest.
Catalan police decked out in riot gear shoved and hit demonstrators with batons to keep the crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government’s representative in Barcelona, the capital of the wealthy northeastern region.
Officers fired warning shots in the air to try to contain the demonstrators, who pushed large recycling containers towards police. Some people threw glass bottles, cans and eggs at police.
Some 90 people were slightly injured during the protests in Barcelona, including 22 police officers, emergency services said.
Another seven people were injured at a protest in Lleida, about 150 kilometres west of Barcelona and one person was injured in Tarragona to the south.
It is the latest chapter in a secession saga that has bitterly divided Catalans and triggered Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
‘Not the end’
“It angers us that they arrested Puigdemont, he is our highest representative,” 22-year-old architecture student Judit Carapena told AFP at the protest.
Spain’s central government should not “sing victory because it is not the end of separatism, far from it”, she added.
Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent appealed for calm in an address broadcast on regional television.
“I have no doubt that Catalan society will act as it always has, with non-violence,” he said.
Aside from Puigdemont, nine other Catalan separatist leaders are in jail in Spain over the region’s failed bid for independence.
His arrest comes two days after Spain’s supreme court issued international arrest warrants for 13 Catalan separatists including Puigdemont and his nominated successor Jordi Turull.
The court said they would be prosecuted for “rebellion”, a charge which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Twelve more people face less serious charges like disobedience.
Issuing the warrant for Puigdemont on Friday, Judge Pablo Llarena accused the ousted Catalan leader of organising an independence referendum in October last year despite a ban from Madrid.
The vote had been swiftly followed by the Catalan parliament’s declaration of independence on 27 October.
Rebellion
As Spanish authorities moved in to impose direct rule over the region, Puigdemont and four other separatist leaders fled to Belgium. A sixth one fled the country on Friday, reportedly to Switzerland.
Hours after Puigdemont was detained in Germany, a spokesman from Police Scotland said one of them, Clara Ponsati, who has since gone to Scotland and is wanted for both rebellion and misuse of public funds, was “making arrangements” to surrender to authorities there.
Puigdemont had been visiting Finland since Thursday, but slipped out of the Nordic country before Finnish police could detain him.
Elsa Artadi, a lawmaker with Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia party, said that he should fight his extradition. ”Spain does not guarantee a fair trial; only revenge and repression,” she wrote on Twitter.
“What they are doing these days is totally disproportionate, we are being treated like criminals for wanting independence,” Rosa Vela, a 60-year-old teacher, told AFP at the protest in Barcelona.
While separatist parties won Catalonia’s regional elections in December called by Madrid, they have been unable to elect a president and form a government as they have picked candidates are now either in exile, in jail or facing prosecution.
After Puigdemont was forced to withdraw his bid for the presidency as he could not return to Spain without facing arrest, another pro-independence leader Jordi Sanchez followed suit when a judge refused to let him out of jail to be sworn in. The third candidate, Turull, was placed in custody on Friday.
Fresh regional elections will be triggered if a new leader is not elected by 22 May.
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Pray for Catalonia. No longer shall they suffer the humiliation of being the wealthiest region of Spain. Brave Puigdemont wasn’t running away when he was running.
@Honeybadger197: Pray for the Journal being swamped by Putinbots, Shinners and gullible fools who swallow the Braveheart-esque lines from Puigdemont’s fake news team.
Cowardly Spanish Police continue their brutality against peaceful protests
https://twitter.com/CatalansForYes/status/978162774831501312
@Féach News: Jesus. I’m conflicted on the issue but the police really aren’t helping the Spanish case with rubbish like that.
@ihcalaM: so what do you propose the police does when the independents are cutting roads and aiming to occupy government buildings? Let them do it? Democracy is not just about voting and choosing, it is also about abiding the law and we have not seen a lot of that here by the independents. Additionally bear in mind that approx 50% of the population in Cataluña is fed up with this – in case all your sympathy goes to the independents…many regular folk in Cataluña is severely impacted by all this…
@Toki Wartooth: Those ‘regular folk’ are all foreigners, traitors and Imperialists. Didn’t you get the memo?
@Féach News: catalan* police
@Féach News: She was antagonising the police as can be seen on the video. You don’t do that to police during a riot.
@Andy K: Yes, because the only way to combat this woman is by laying into her with a baton. If you have any other insightful comments leave them below.
@Toki Wartooth: Upholding law and order is one thing. The videos I have seen certainly depicted excessive force and in some cases just assault.
As I said – the police don’t help the Spanish argument with heavy handed suppression of protest and dissent. I’m sure this could be handled far more delicately but they seem to have no interest in that.
@Féach News: there the Mossos de Esquadra … the Catalan police ..
@Niall Conran: I never said that was the only way for police to react, so do not put words in my mouth.
But she is far from innocent. And found that to police in riot gear is not going to get you any form of friendly reaction. I mean what did she expect?
@Limón Madrugada: the Catalan police are now under the control of the Spanish government since enactment I’d Article 155. A majority of those protesters were peaceful. Using a police vehicle at high speed to disperse a crowd is disgusting. This is a European country!
Welcome to EU democracy.
@@mdmak33: EU has nothing to do with this, genius.
@@mdmak33: ah, you must have watched the Euro/Catalan 2000 year history documentary recently on the ‘really really real History channel’. I always thought Spain wrote the laws governing that piece of land.
@@mdmak33: Please do explain your comment.
Are you suggesting that a) the rule of law in Spain should be ignored b) that a minority of Spanish citizens should be allowed hold the majority to ransom c) that constitutions should only be adhered to when it suits.
@Harry Whitehead: The EU certainly does have something to do with this.
Europe says no. No democracy..
@Willy Malone: Spain is now a synonym of Europe, and vice versa? Strange dictionary you bought. Did donald trump write it for you? Bless.
@Steven Fitzpatrick: Nah, it’s more likely Putin. Trump’s dictionary would have spelt it ‘Yurp’.
This going to turn nasty, Finland clearly avoided arresting him last week, quite sensible, the Germans don’t seem to bright. Sure theirs an arrest warrant but in dubious grounds. the Catalans have todate been quite restrained, I suspect this will put them over the edge.
@Joseph Dempsey: Puigdemont is wanted for deliberately and openly breaking Spanish laws. What exactly is ‘dubious’ about the arrest warrant? Do you have evidence that he didn’t try holding a referendum? Or that Spanish courts actually gave him the green light and then rescinded their ruling?
@Joseph Dempsey: Dubious grounds? He tried to stage a revolt. There’s not much worse a politician can do….
@Harry Whitehead: Catalonia had an election and voted for independence. What right does a Spainish court have to interfere? EU on the wrong side of history. They just want their money back from Spain.
@prop joe: By what right? By the fact that Catelonia ratified the same constitution Puigdemont is now spitting on. If you agree to follow a set of laws you don’t suddenly get to pick and choose which ones you want to follow unless everyone else agrees with you. Breaking said laws means you face the consequences. No country on Earth would allow this, I’m not sure why you think Spain should react any differently.
@Harry Whitehead: harry that constitution was written 43 years ago following a dictatorship (which the Spanish government refuse to denounce). Politicians (men only) had 14 days in a room with armed soldiers outside to agree on a pre Franco death constitution. The constitution has only been altered twice by government. Once to allow a Queen rule and joining of the EU. No public vote was carried out in either case.
This could have been resolved 8 years ago through dialogue but M. Rajoy has refused dialogue with anyone. Including media.
how unfortunate that this weasel is getting all this publicity. He’s a gombeen &a twit. if left to drive around Germany’s autobahns he’d soon be forgotten about. his multi millionaire backers must be delighted though, a free independent Catalonia for the rich to get richer! Viva Catalunya Rico!
@Dean Anderson: comments open on this and French politician who celebrated police man’s killing…but closed on rapist sentence reduction!!
So the rule of laws written by the incumbent government is always right according to some of the fools on this site. The penal laws in Ireland should have been adhered to. When Nazi Germany wrote laws persecuting trade unionists socialists and Jews they were correct because they were the law of the land. Laws are only justified if they are correct and every law is subject to the support of the population.
@Kevin Geraghty: which they are
Legend
Germany getting involved once again, last time they got involved the world went into world war.. Have we not learned our lesson not to give them power.. No wonder why Britain want out, one goes others will follow…
@Karl Doran: Germany are just helping arrest a Spanish criminal.
And if we are referring to history please do not paint Britain in a favourable light. They are the worst of them all (to Ireland, historically).
A Catalan court and a Spanish court both found the referendum illegal. The Spanish Police shut down the referendum, the only people bothered to vote in an illegal referendum where those in support of independence. The result should not stand but another referendum should be held.
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