Catalonia’s ex-president surrenders to police
Attacks Spain’s ‘politicized judiciary’
MADRID/BRUSSELS
• Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia, Sunday handed himself over to Belgian police before a European arrest warrant invoked by a Spanish judge triggered his capture and detention.
The separatist leader, removed from office by the Spanish government, has declared he will fight extradition to Spain, where he faces a possible criminal trial and up to 30 years in prison.
The Brussels prosecutor’s office announced that Puigdemont had turned himself in, along with four former ministers from his ousted Catalan administration, who travelled to Belgium last week with their leader to avoid a Spanish court summons.
The Catalan administration last month held a referendum deemed unlawful by Madrid and declared the region independent of Spain.
The Madrid High Court judge investigating all 14 members of the deposed Catalan administration remanded eight former ministers in custody without bail and issued European arrest warrants for the five fugitives in Brussels, who are accused of rebellion and sedition, among other offences.
“They went to the office of the federal judicial police and were deprived of their liberty this morning at 9.17am,” said Gilles Dejemeppe, a Brussels prosecutor’s office spokesman.
Puigdemont has insisted he does not fear justice, but has lashed out against what he calls Spain’s “politicized judiciary.”
“We are prepared to fully cooperate with Belgian justice following the European arrest warrant issued by Spain,” Puigdemont posted on his Twitter feed on Saturday.
The case of the five Catalan former officials was due to be heard by a Belgian investigating judge yesterday afternoon. The judge must decide within 24 hours whether to keep the fugitive politicians in detention, not to apply the arrest warrant, or to grant a provisional or conditional release.
“There is no fear of justice, only of injustice,” said Gonzalo Boye, the lawyer who is defending Meritxell Serret and Toni Comin, two of Mr Puigdemont’s former regional ministers.
Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and the leader of the liberals in the European Parliament, has suggested through social media that the Spanish judiciary release the eight former Catalan officials jailed last week to prevent the legitimacy of the December 21 elections being undermined.