Protests as leader held

MORE than 50 people were injured as thousands protested in Barcelona last night against the arrest of the deposed Catalan president in Germany.

Carles Puigdemont was held yesterday en route to Belgium – where he has been in self-imposed exile for four months – after a trip to Finland.

He faces up to 25 years in prison for organising last year’s secession referendum denounced as illegal by Madrid. He is to appear in court today but it is not known if he will be extradited from Germany immediately.