Madrid. Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont posted his first message on social media from Belgium last night after starring, with his surprise appearance at a rally in Barcelona and then his escape, in the parliamentary debate on the investiture of socialist Salvador Illa as president of the Generalitat, who will govern the region for the next four years.
Puigdemont, who has a court order against him for the crime of misappropriation of public funds, lashed out at the Catalan government, accusing it of unleashing a “witch hunt” and sponsoring a “wave of repression.” “I have already said that I have never had the will to surrender voluntarily or to facilitate my arrest because I find it unacceptable that I am being pursued for political reasons and that, on top of that, the amnesty law is not being applied,” and warned that “if the Minister of the Interior had complied with the law and had given me the escort that corresponds to me, they would have known at all times what my route through Barcelona and Catalonia was. They would not have needed the crazy operation yesterday.”
The outgoing government, headed by the pro-independence Pere Aragonés, and the Mossos d’Esquadra police leadership described his conduct on Thursday, when he evaded police control and avoided arrest, as “inappropriate.”
Catalan police explained that they tried to follow Puigdemont but “they were helped by the green lights and it was impossible to keep up with him” and he disappeared into the city traffic. A few minutes later, when he was out of the police’s sights, the vehicle in which he fled was located, which belongs to a regional agent who was immediately arrested and claimed that “he lent the car to a friend”. Two other police officers were then arrested, making three Mossos arrested for alleged complicity in the politician’s escape.
After eight hours of activating the so-called “Operation Cage,” the whereabouts of the former president could not be located.
The Minister of the Presidency of the Spanish government, the socialist Félix Bolaños, attributed all responsibility to the Catalan government and its police: “The Mossos are a judicial police force and had the obligation to have arrested Puigdemont, but here the important thing is that the investiture of Salvador Illa was carried out,” he said.
Illa will become the first socialist president after 15 years of nationalist governments, which saw the failed unilateral declaration of independence in October 2017.
#Puigdemont #claims #Belgium #attacks #Catalan #police
– 2024-08-10 12:33:10
