Court grants sacked Catalan leader freedom to campaign

Only 1 in 7 residents see dispute ending in independence

BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s former leader Carles Puigdemont was spared imprisonment on Monday, when a Brussels court ruled he could remain at liberty in Belgium until it had heard Spanish allegations of rebellion against him.

The court’s decision means Puigdemont, who left Spain last month after Madrid fired his secessionist government and dissolved the Catalan parliament, is free to campaign for independence for an election in the region on December 21.

The vote is shaping up as a de facto independence referendum.

Puigdemont’s Catalan European Democratic Party and another secessionist party said that they might run on a combined ticket, but would need to make a decision on any formal alliance – which might also include other parties – by a deadline of Tuesday.

Alliances could however also form after the election.

The independence push has dragged Spain into its worst political crisis since its return to democracy four decades ago and has deeply divided the country, fueling anti-Spanish feelings in Catalonia and nationalist tendencies elsewhere.

Puigdemont turned himself in to Belgian police on Sunday along with four of his ex-ministers, after Spain issued a European arrest warrant on charges of rebellion as well as misuse of public funds.

All five are barred from leaving Belgium without a judge’s consent.

“The next step in the proceedings is the appearance of the five defendants before the Chambre du Conseil [Council Chamber] within the next 15 days,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The Chambre is a court of first instance that is responsible for ruling on extradition requests.

Spain’s central government took control of Catalonia, which makes up a fifth of the national economy, after local leaders held an independence referendum on October 1 despite a constitutional court ban.

The region’s parliament then passed a unilateral declaration of independence. In response, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fired the government and called for snap regional elections.

Also, just one in seven people from Catalonia believe the current standoff will end in independence for the region, while more than two-thirds think the process has been bad for the economy, a survey showed on Monday.

Opinion polls showing support for secession and for Puigdemont and his allies – eight of whom stayed behind in Spain and are being detained on similar accusations to the ones the deposed leader faces – have remained steady.

On Sunday, the first part of a GAD3 survey showed that pro-independence parties would win the election, but may not gain the parliamentary majority needed to continue with secession.

On Monday, the second part showed just one in seven people from Catalonia believe the current standoff between Barcelona and Madrid will end in independence for the region while more than two-thirds think the process has been bad for the economy.

Published in La Vanguardia newspaper, the survey polled 1,233 people between October 30 and November 3.

Optimism that a negotiated solution would be found was low, with just over a fifth of respondents thinking the crisis would lead to talks between regional authorities and Madrid.

The uncertainty has prompted more than 2,000 companies to relocate their legal headquarters out of the region since October 1, while the Bank of Spain said if the conflict persists it could lead to slower growth and job creation.