Catalan leader faces arrest warrant
Spanish judge ordered the detention of eight Catalonia ministers pending probes EU not to intervene in case of Carles
Madrid, Nov. 3: A judge in Madrid was set on Friday to issue an EU arrest warrant for Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont over his region’s tumultuous independence drive, in a move likely to take tensions to a new level in Spain's worst political crisis in decades.
A large chunk of Catalonia’s deposed government was behind bars early on Friday after a Spanish judge ordered the detention of eight ministers pending probes into their role in the region’s independence drive, prompting fresh protests.
Students blocked roads and a railway line in Catalonia as demonstrators geared up for more protests after tens of thousands took to the streets on Thursday waving Catalan flags and chanting in anger over the detentions. Mr Puigdemont, 54, dismissed last week as Catalan President by Spain’s government, failed to show up on Thursday to be grilled by the judge over alleged sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds, accusations he calls politically motivated.
Judge Carmen Lamela, who on Thursday had Mr Puigdemont’s deputy Oriol Junqueras and seven other deposed regional ministers detained pending a potential trial, will issue the warrant “during the day Friday,” a judicial source said. Mr Puigdemont's Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert, who in the past has helped Mr Basque separatists militants challenge Spanish extradition requests, told Flemish television channel VRT on Thursday his client would appeal the move.
Mr Puigdemont also said on Catalan TV from an undisclosed location that the situation “is no longer an internal Spanish affair” and called on the international community to wake up to the “danger”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Friday that “what is important to us is that the unity and constitutional order of Spain are maintained”. A European Commission spokeswoman said the warrant for Mr Puigdemont “is a matter entirely for the judicial authorities whose independence
Students blocked roads and a railway line in Catalonia as demonstrators geared up for more protests after tens of thousands took to the streets on Thursday waving Catalan flags and chanting in anger over the detentions
we respect fully”. Late on Thursday, as television footage showed images of police vans with flashing blue lights driving Mr Puigdemont's former ministers to different prisons, Catalans took to the streets in anger and disbelief. — AFP Brussels, Nov. 3: The EU on Friday refused to intervene over the European arrest warrant Spain is set to issue for Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont, currently holed up in Belgium, saying it was a matter for the courts.
A Spanish judge is expected to issue the warrant demanding Belgium return of Mr Puigdemont, who is wanted for questioning over alleged sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds in relation to his region's independence drive.
Catalan efforts to make the crisis an international issue have so far failed, and the European Union has been steadfast in its support for Madrid throughout, insisting it is an internal matter for Spain.
Mr Puigdemont’s Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert, who in the past has helped Basque separatists militants challenge Spanish extradition requests, told Flemish television channel VRT on that Mr Puigdemont would fight efforts to send him to Spain. — AFP