- Carles Puigdemont evaded a police manhunt in Spain, returning to Belgium
- The ex-Catalan leader briefly appeared in Barcelona, then fled
- Spanish authorities and Catalan police are under scrutiny for the escape
According to his party, Carles Puigdemont, the exiled ex-Catalan leader, eluded an extensive police manhunt and fled Spain.
On Thursday, Spanish officials started a massive search for Mr Puigdemont after he unexpectedly returned to Spain, delivered a brief speech to Barcelona crowds, and vanished.
The 61-year-old is wanted in Spain on accusations related to a failed Catalan independence bid in 2017.
According to Jordi Turull, his party’s secretary general, Mr Puigdemont has returned to his home in Belgium after a difficult 24 hours on the run.
Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders, including Mr Puigdemont, staged a 2017 referendum that was found illegal by Spain’s constitutional court and later declared the territory independent.
Madrid quickly seized direct administration over the province, and Mr Puigdemont fled to Belgium.
He has spent much of the last five years living in Brussels.
After seven years in exile, Mr Puigdemont spoke briefly to hundreds of supporters gathering near the Catalan parliament in Barcelona.
Long live a free Catalonia!” he greeted fans and international journalists on Thursday before stating that he had returned “to remind you that we are still here.
“Holding a referendum is not and will never be a crime,” Mr. Puigdemont said before abruptly fleeing.
In an interview with RAC1 radio on Friday, Mr Turull said the ex-Catalan leader was in Brussels but couldn’t confirm if he had returned to his home in the Waterloo municipality.
Eduard Sallent, the top commissioner of Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra, told media on Friday that he had no information on Mr. Puigdemont’s movements and that the plan was to arrest him “in the most suitable place.”
He acknowledged that two officers were detained on suspicion of assisting Mr. Puigdemont in fleeing, adding that “it is possible that other Mossos helped him in his escape” and that the force will follow the necessary criminal and administrative procedures in each case.
According to Spanish media, one officer owned the car where Mr Puigdemont fled after delivering his address. The force dismissed claims of cooperation with the prior chief.
It claimed that he took advantage of the large crowd and departed the scene in a vehicle that the Mossos attempted but failed to stop.
According to the party’s secretary general, Mr Puigdemont had been in Barcelona since Tuesday before appearing unexpectedly outside the city’s parliament on Thursday.
Mr Turull stated that the former separatist leader had supper in Barcelona on Tuesday night and spent the entire Wednesday and Thursday in the region.
His visit coincided with the inauguration of Socialist Salvador Illa as the new Catalan president.
A search was initiated, with temporary roadblocks established around Barcelona. Spanish television showed footage from La Jonquera, a municipality bordering France, where police were seen halting cars and examining the boots.
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A Spanish Supreme Court judge is questioning Catalonia’s police, demanding an explanation for Mr Puigdemont’s escape.
Judge Pablo Llarena, who issued the arrest warrant for Mr Puigdemont, has also inquired about Spain’s interior ministry’s plans to arrest him at the border.
In documents made public by the Supreme Court, Mr. Llarena requested that the ministry clarify what orders were granted to detain him “after his escape.”
On Friday, Justice Minister Felix Bolanos stated that the search for Mr Puigdemont was the responsibility of the Mossos, Catalonia’s law enforcement authority.
However, Mosso’s director general, Pere Ferrer, stated that Thursday’s events put the police “in a situation they do not deserve” and that criticizing officers for “unresolved political problems is bad business.
