Catalonia’s ex-president Carles Puigdemont last night urged pro-independence political parties in the region to “unite” ahead of elections next month. The ousted leader was lying low yesterday after justice officials in Belgium received a European warrant for his arrest from Spain.
He took to Twitter last night to discuss strategy for the December snap election Spain's government has called as part of its temporary takeover of Catalonia.
Puigdemont did not comment on the arrest warrant yesterday but his lawyer has indicated he will fight extradition but will not seek political asylum. Puigdemont and four ex-members of his cabinet fled to Belgium after Spanish authorities removed the top officials in the Catalan government from office a week ago. It is thought they are still hiding in Belgium, though their exact whereabouts are unknown.
Spanish court judge Carmen Lamela filed a request with the Belgian prosecutor to detain them and also issued separate international search and arrest warrants to alert Europol in case they flee the country.
The international arrest warrant sparked another round of protests across Catalonia and its main city, Barcelona.
Puigdemont made no mention of the legal issues in a message to his political followers posted on Twitter last night. “It's the moment for all democrats to unite. For Catalonia, for the freedom of political prisoners and the Republic,” he wrote, endorsing calls for pro-independence political parties to unite in a coalition for the forthcoming poll.
The majority of Catalonia's Parliament voted in favour of a declaration of independence on October 27. The next day, Spain's central government used extraordinary constitutional powers to fire Catalonia's government and dissolve its regional parliament. Elections are scheduled for December 21.
While Puigdemont and others flew to Belgium, eight members of his government stayed in Spain. Judge Lamela questioned them on Thursday and ordered all eight to be jailed without bail because of what she said was the risk that they would persist in trying to achieve independence for Catalonia while they are under criminal investigation.
In all, Spanish prosecutors are investigating 20 regional politicians for rebellion and other crimes that could be punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
In Barcelona yesterday, a senior official of a large pro-independence party in Catalonia, the Republican Left, made her party's participation in the December 21 elections conditional on the release of all the jailed politicians from prison.
“If (Spain) wants democratic elections, if it wants to show that it is really democratic, it is necessary that it releases the main leaders of one of the options that will run for elections,” general secretary Marta Rovira said. “We demand the freedom of all political prisoners, of all of them.”
Puigdemont and the four former ministers in Belgium are being sought for five crimes, including rebellion, sedition and embezzlement. Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed they received the arrest warrant late on Friday and said they could question Puigdemont in the coming days.
Prosecutors' spokesman Eric Van Der Sijpt said it could be tomorrow but added: “We are not in any hurry.”
Puigdemont has said he would be willing to cooperate with the Belgian judiciary but that he has lost confidence in Spanish justice. Puigdemont's Belgian lawyer has said his client would fight extradition to Spain without requesting political asylum.
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