Puigdemont in German court as arrest ignites Catalan protests
AFP
BERLIN: Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is to appear in court yesterday following his arrest in Germany which triggered a wave of protests in Catalonia where thousands of separatists faced off with police, reports AFP.
German police arrested Puigdemont on Sunday, after he crossed the border from Denmark, under a European warrant issued by Spain. The arrest comes five months after Puigdemont went on the run as Spanish prosecutors sought to charge him with sedition and rebellion in the wake of a vote by the Catalan parliament to declare independence.
According to his lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas, he was on his way to Belgium, where he fled after Spanish authorities moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia.
Puigdemont will be brought before a German judge Monday to confirm his identity and a court will then decide if he is to remain in custody pending extradition proceedings.
It will take place in the course of the day, probably in the afternoon, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors office for Schleswig-Holstein state told AFP. Calling the situation very delicate, Alonso-Cuevillas told Catalonias Rac1 radio it was very likely that he will not be allowed to leave Germany. Clashes erupted as protesters took to the streets in Catalonia on Sunday following his arrest.
Catalan police decked out in riot gear shoved and hit demonstrators with batons to keep the crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish governments representative in Barcelona, the capital of the wealthy northeastern region.
