Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is now ‘back in Belgium’ after he evaded arrest in Spain for the second time in seven years following a dramatic escape in a getaway car.
Puigdemont, 61, made a much-anticipated return to Spain this week despite a pending arrest warrant against him for his role in a 2017 independence referendum deemed illegal by Spanish courts.
Amid a heavy police presence, he told a crowd of thousands of followers in the Catalan capital of Barcelona on Thursday that he aimed to revive the independence drive that plunged Spain into political crisis in 2017.
But in an astonishing turn of events, he disappeared shortly after speaking despite being under the eyes of almost as many journalists and police officers who had intended to arrest him after the speech.
Former Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias, who was present at the rally, marvelled at Puigdemont’s flight, saying simply: ‘It was magic.’
Catalonia’s exiled separatist leader Carles Puigdemont delivers a speech on stage in Barcelona on Thursday, before he disappeared again
A police officer checks a vehicle at a roadblock set up to find Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont
Catalan regional police force Mossos d’Esquadra stop vehicles at a roadblock in Barcelona
Puigdemont makes his first public appearance since he fled Spain in 2017, speaking at a public rally in Barcelona
It came after Spanish police searched the sewers after the exiled leader pledged to sneak back into the country – with a door linking the Catalan Parliament to Barcelona Zoo to prevent any elaborate attempts to breach the premises.
The heads of Catalonia’s regional police, which had deployed 500 officers in preparation for the fugitive’s pre-announced return, defended their actions following the failure to catch Puigdemont and said an investigation had been launched to look into what went wrong.
Joan Ignasi Elena, the acting head of Catalonia’s interior department, which oversees the regional Mossos D’Esquadra police, defended the force and criticised Puigdemont.
‘We didn’t expect such inappropriate behaviour from someone who has been the first authority of (Catalonia),’ Mr Elena told journalists during a two-and-a-half hour press conference.
Mossos chief Eduard Sallent said the large crowd and the presence of local dignitaries, including the president of the Catalan parliament, escorting Puigdemont as he arrived to give his speech made it difficult to detain him at that moment.
Mossos chief Eduard Sallent (pictured) said the large crowd and the presence of local dignitaries, including the president of the Catalan parliament, escorting Puigdemont as he arrived to give his speech made it difficult to detain him at that moment
Supporters of Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont hold his portrait as they wait for his arrival
Supporters of Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont demonstrate in Barcelona
Chief commissioner of the Mossos d’Esquadra, Eduard Sallent (right), looks on during a press conference in Barcelona, Spain, August 9
Police expected he would then march to the Catalan parliament – as had been publicly announced by Puigdemont himself as well as an announcer talking to the crowd on loudspeakers.
Police hoped to have a better opportunity to execute the arrest warrant there.
Instead, the Catalan leader rushed off the stage, into an adjacent tent where he put on a straw hat like many of his supporters were wearing and quickly got into a white car that had been waiting for him.
Police chased the car but then lost track of him, Mr Sallent explained.
Two police officers were detained for their involvement in the escape, including one whose car was used by Puigdemont to flee. One of them has since been released.
The white car used by Puigdemont to flee carried a wheelchair in the front seat, allegedly to facilitate parking in disabled spots, police said.
Puigdemont had announced on Wednesday that he planned to return to Spain.
Catalan regional police forces Mossos d’Esquadra officers form a hedge of honour as Catalonia’s Socialist Party (PSC) party’s leader Salvador Illa (pictured) leaves after being elected Catalan regional president on Thursday
A supporter arranges a sign with an image depicting Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont
Catalan regional police forces Mossos d’Esquadra officers stand guard in front of Spain’s far-right party Vox supporters
But Jordi Turull, a fellow separatist and member of Puigdemont’s legal team, told Catalan radio that Puigdemont had in fact been in Barcelona since Tuesday.
Mr Turull was in the car with Puigdemont when he fled, police said.
Gonzalo Boye, Puigdemont’s chief lawyer, told The Associated Press (AP) his client was back in the Belgian town of Waterloo on Friday.
An AP journalist who rang the doorbell of the house that had been Puigdemont’s residence was told the Catalan politician was not there.
The separatist leader fled to Belgium seven years ago after a failed secession bid and has been living in exile ever since.
He faces an arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement related to a 2017 independence referendum ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis.
Spain’s Socialist-led national government in Madrid approved an amnesty in May which cancelled legal proceedings against hundreds of separatists involved in the illegal referendum.
Spain’s far-right party Vox supporters hold a mannequin depicting Catalonia’s exiled separatist leader Carles Puigdemont in a prisoner outfit
Puigdemont addresses supporters after his arrival near the Catalan parliament
But the country’s Supreme Court last month ruled the law didn’t apply to an outstanding embezzlement charge against Mr Puigdemont, the former leader of the hardline Junts party.
He sparked a major alert after boasting of his imminent return in a video posted on X , in which he warned: ‘I have started the return journey from exile.’
A Mossos spokesman said there was no prior arrangement with Puigdemont for his arrest and the force had decided the detention should be made ‘at the most appropriate time so as not to generate public disorder.’
Puigdemont ally Laura Borras described the arrested officer on X as ‘a patriot and exemplary Mosso.’
The hunt for Puigdemont created traffic chaos in Barcelona and near the border with France as police set up roadblocks and searched car boots.
In Barcelona, several Puigdemont supporters clashed with police in a bid to breach the cordon surrounding the park housing the regional parliament building. Officers clad in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to deter them.
Supporters of Spanish far-right Vox party protest against Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont
Gonzalo Boye, lawyer of Catalan independence leader and former President Carles Puigdemont, leaves the area of the Catalan parliament during the investiture debate in Barcelona
Pro-independence supporters wave Catalan ‘Estelada’ flags as Catalonia’s exiled separatist leader Carles Puigdemont arrives on stage on Thursday
Reacting to news that Puigdemont had again absconded from under the noses of a large police deployment, a Supreme Court source said a judge had been clear in his instructions that the former Catalan president was to be arrested.
‘The Mossos know that they have a detention order… they had the obligation to detain him and bring him before the courts,’ the source said.
Two national police unions also criticised the failure to arrest Puigdemont.
‘Where are the Mossos? The best-paid police force in Spain incapable of doing their job, of arresting the coup-monger and fugitive from justice Puigdemont,’ police union Jusapol said on X.
Two sources with links to the Catalan government said it had identified a problem with some rogue Mossos, who appear to be loyal to Puigdemont.
A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Puigdemont’s lawyer.
His arrest could jeopardise the Socialist-led national government’s fragile alliance with Puigdemont’s Junts party, on which it relies for legislative support.
Catalonia’s parliament on Wednesday afternoon confirmed Salvador Illa, an ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as head of the Catalan government.
Traffic during a roadblock set up to find Catalan separatist leader Puigdemont
Puigdemont makes his first public appearance since he fled Spain in 2017
Spain’s far-right party Vox supporters hold a mannequin depicting Catalonia’s exiled separatist leader Carles Puigdemont in a prisonner outfit in Barcelona on August 8
‘I will govern for everyone having into account the plurality and diversity of Catalonia,’ Illa said.
The Socialists hope taking control in Catalonia after a decade of separatist rule will turn the page on the independence drive.
Mr Elena, the head of the interior department of Catalonia who is also a member of the left-wing separatist Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party, questioned the purpose of Puigdemont’s ‘show’.
He said: ‘What he did yesterday, what does it add? A farce, revenge … what does it bring to the independence movement?’
The crowd of thousands, who had gathered near the parliament to welcome him, hoped his return would help build momentum towards independence, which has lost support in recent years.
‘It represents the return of a symbol,’ said Xavier Vizcaino, 63, who was wrapped in an independence flag.
Spain’s far-right party Vox supporters wave flags and hold signs on Thursday
No-one had expected him to disappear again.
Mr Puigdemont decided against taking part in the European elections in June so that he could stand for the Catalan presidency.
However, he came second to Socialist candidate Salvador Illa, who has made a deal to form a minority government.
Puigdemont’s first escape from Spain in 2017 became the stuff of legend among his followers, and a huge source of embarrassment for Spanish law enforcement.
Earlier this year, Puigdemont denied that he had hidden in a car boot to avoid detection while slipping across the border in 2017 after the referendum.
