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Catalan Separatist Leader Turns Himself In to Belgian Officials Catalan Separatist Leader Turns Himself In to Belgian Officials
(32 minutes later)
BARCELONA, Spain — Carles Puigdemont, the former separatist leader of Catalonia, handed himself in to Belgium’s judiciary on Friday, while vowing to fight Spain’s latest attempt to extradite him and try him for sedition.BARCELONA, Spain — Carles Puigdemont, the former separatist leader of Catalonia, handed himself in to Belgium’s judiciary on Friday, while vowing to fight Spain’s latest attempt to extradite him and try him for sedition.
Mr. Puigdemont, who was subsequently allowed to leave by prosecutors, fled to Brussels in October 2017 when Madrid forced his ouster from office after the botched attempt to unilaterally split Catalonia from Spain. Since then, Mr. Puigdemont has successfully fought extradition from both Belgium and Germany, where local judges rejected an earlier Spanish claim that he had led a rebellion. A general strike was held across Catalonia on Friday, while hundreds of thousands of people took part in marches to protest the jailing of nine other separatist leaders over the failed bid, led by Mr. Puigdemont, to break away from Spain in 2017.
Spanish prosecutors now want Belgium to return Mr. Puigdemont to Spain to face trial on charges of sedition rather than rebellion. A Spanish judge issued a European arrest warrant for Mr. Puigdemont on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court sentenced nine other Catalan separatist leaders for sedition. They were given prison terms between nine and 13 years. The unrest has roiled Barcelona since the sentences were handed down on Monday. The Spanish government has vowed to put an end to the turmoil, after four nights in which protesters clashed violently with the police and set fires in the streets of Barcelona and other cities.
Those sentences have touched off days of protests and escalated tensions in the region. Mr. Puigdemont, who was not detained by prosecutors in Brussels, fled to Belgium in October 2017 when Madrid forced his ouster from office. Since then, Mr. Puigdemont has successfully fought extradition from both Belgium and Germany, where local judges rejected an earlier Spanish claim that he had led a rebellion.
With the unrest showing no sign of waning, the high-profile soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which was scheduled for Oct. 26, has been postponed. Spanish prosecutors now want Belgium to return Mr. Puigdemont to Spain to face trial on charges of sedition rather than rebellion. A Spanish judge issued a European arrest warrant for Mr. Puigdemont on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court sentenced the other Catalan separatist leaders for sedition. They were given prison terms between nine and 13 years.
Spain’s judiciary could also issue new international warrants for other separatist politicians who have been avoiding Spanish prosecution in Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland. Three other separatist leaders were sentenced for the lesser crime of disobedience during the events two years ago.
Those rulings have touched off days of protests and escalated tensions in the region. Video footage online showed protesters outside the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Roman Catholic basilica was later shut down, according to local news reports. The church’s official Twitter account said that a group of protesters had blocked the entrance and that access to the premises could no longer be guaranteed.
On Friday, protesters disrupted the region’s transport network, adding to the impact of a strike that has already forced the cancellation of many commuter trains and buses. They also erected barricades along major roads, including the main highway to France.
With the unrest showing no sign of waning, the high-profile soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, scheduled for Oct. 26, has been postponed, the Spanish Football Federation announced. Some other important events have also been canceled this week, including a classical music concert in Barcelona that was to have been led by the British artist Simon Rattle.
In addition to pursuing Mr. Puigdemont, Spain’s judiciary could also issue new international warrants for other separatist politicians who have been avoiding Spanish prosecution in Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland.