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Police are hunting a former Catalan separatist leader after he returned from exile

Police in Barcelona are hunting the former leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, who returned to Spain after seven years in exile despite facing an arrest warrant.

He has been living in Brussels for years, after police charged him with charges related to a failed bid for self-government in 2017.

Mr Puigdemont spoke briefly to hundreds of supporters gathered near the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​just before the expected investiture of the new head of the Catalan government.

He said he has returned “to remind you that we are still here” and added: “Holding a referendum is not and will never be a crime.”

Mr Puigdemont then disappeared.

Many expected him to appear inside the parliament building during the investiture ceremony at 10:00 (08:00 GMT), but he was nowhere to be seen.

Spanish media reported that the operation to find and arrest Mr Puigdemont has now been launched by the Mossos d’Esquadra – Catalan police. Citing police sources, El Pais newspaper said the exit from Barcelona has been closed.

There were also roadblocks throughout the city, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior in Catalonia in a statement.

There seem to be many reasons for Carles Puigdemont’s return to Spain.

First, he wants to pressure the authorities to apply the new amnesty law to him, after the high court barred him from his request on technical grounds.

He also aims to disrupt the investiture of Socialist Salvador Illa as the new Catalan president today.

The former health minister of Spain will be the first non-nationalist leader since 2010.

Equally important to Mr Puigdemont is asserting himself and his party in Catalunya (JxCat) as a major pro-independence force.

He is keen to cast his separatist rival, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), as aligned with Spain’s unions because of its agreement to support Mr Illa’s investment.

Until a new local government is in place, the ERC is still facing the Catalan police force, making the return of the former regional president particularly uncomfortable for the party.


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