Carles Puigdemont flees again after brief speech in Barcelona, ​​Spain

BARCELONA, Spain.- The former president of the Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemontappeared this Thursday in Barcelona and burst into an event organised by his followers, without being arrested and after having spent almost seven years fleeing from Spanish justice.

Puigdemont arrived accompanied by leaders of his pro-independence party Together for Catalonia and made his way through his followers shouting “Independence” to a stage set up in front of the well-known Arc de Triomphe in Barcelonafrom where he addressed the attendees.

The pro-independence leader appeared in a park in Barcelona where thousands of pro-independence supporters had gathered awaiting his arrival, waving Catalan pro-independence flags.

In his speech, Puigdemont accused the Spanish authorities of waging “extremely harsh repression” against the Catalan independence movement.

“We have been persecuted for seven years for wanting to listen to the voice of the people of Catalonia,” Puigdemont said. “They have turned being Catalan into something suspicious.”

After a brief speech of just over five minutes, he left the area of ​​the rally, where the investiture session of the socialist is scheduled to take place nearby in the Catalan Parliament. Salvador Illa like new President of Catalonia.

This morning, a parliamentary session is scheduled in which Illa is expected to be proclaimed president of the regional government of Catalonia with the support of the ERC republicans, former partners of Puigdemont.

Puigdemont flees after his speech

Carles Puigdemont made a defiant appearance in Barcelona after travelling from Belgium and gave a speech to a large crowd of supporters.

The former Catalan president faces embezzlement charges for his role in the attempt to separate Catalonia from the rest of Spain in 2017.

After his speech, Puigdemont entered an adjoining tent and hurried out to get into a waiting car and quickly drove off, according to a photographer who witnessed his departure. Puigdemont’s whereabouts were unknown, and police had no immediate comment.

The event was organized by his political party, Together for Catalonia (Together for Catalonia), hours before the new regional government was due to take office in the nearby Catalan parliament.

Amnesty law challenged

A controversial amnesty law drafted by Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government could exonerate Puigdemont and hundreds of other separatists from any charges surrounding the illegal 2017 referendum.

But the law, approved this year in the Spanish Congress, has been challenged by the Supreme Court, which argues that the pardon does not cover embezzlement, unlike other crimes Puigdemont has previously been accused of. The Catalan leader could initially be held in custody pending trial if he is arrested.

Puigdemont’s whereabouts unknown

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is missing after being taken from custody at the end of a speech at an event in Barcelona, ​​in a return that occurred almost seven years after his escape from Spanish justice.

Regional police sources reported that the “Cage” operation has been activated with checkpoints on several exit routes from the Catalan capital to try to locate the pro-independence leader, who is subject to a national arrest warrant accused of embezzlement.

Agreement for the investiture of Salvador Illa

The return of the former Catalan president threatened to complicate an agreement brokered after months of deadlock between Salvador Illa’s Party of Socialists of Catalonia (PSC) and the other main Catalan independence group, the leftist Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

The deal had barely guaranteed enough support in the Catalan parliament for Illa to become the next regional president, in an investiture debate on Thursday.

___Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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