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Catalan separatist Puigdemont heads for Belgium after dodging arrest in Spain, party says
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wanted-catalan-separatist-puigdemont-back-belgium-after-avoiding-arrest-spain-2024-08-09/Catalan separatist Puigdemont heads for Belgium after dodging arrest in Spain, party says
By Reuters
August 9, 2024 7:55 AM EDT Updated 15 min ago
BARCELONA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was headed back to Belgium on Friday, having eluded police after appearing at a rally in Barcelona despite a warrant for his arrest in Spain, his party said.
Junts General Secretary Jordi Turull told RAC1 radio that he did not know whether Puigdemont had already reached Waterloo, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since leading a failed bid for Catalonia's secession in 2017.
Puigdemont's brief appearance on Spanish soil and an escape worthy of a crime caper film angered conservative opponents already upset about Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's amnesty for separatists in exchange for support for his minority government.
To make matters worse for Sanchez, Turull said Junts was reconsidering its support because the Supreme Court had found the amnesty law did not apply to Puigdemont and two others, all charged with embezzlement.
[...]
By Reuters
August 9, 2024 7:55 AM EDT Updated 15 min ago
BARCELONA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was headed back to Belgium on Friday, having eluded police after appearing at a rally in Barcelona despite a warrant for his arrest in Spain, his party said.
Junts General Secretary Jordi Turull told RAC1 radio that he did not know whether Puigdemont had already reached Waterloo, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since leading a failed bid for Catalonia's secession in 2017.
Puigdemont's brief appearance on Spanish soil and an escape worthy of a crime caper film angered conservative opponents already upset about Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's amnesty for separatists in exchange for support for his minority government.
To make matters worse for Sanchez, Turull said Junts was reconsidering its support because the Supreme Court had found the amnesty law did not apply to Puigdemont and two others, all charged with embezzlement.
[...]