Puigdemont, the Catalan separatist leader, says he is back in Belgium

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is back in Belgium “after a few very difficult days”, he reports on X.

After appearing in the Catalan capital, Barcelona yesterday to to give a speechSpanish police launched a manhunt to find him. Hundreds of officers were deployed and roads were closed for police investigations. But Puigdemont managed to evade the police and return to his home town in Belgium.

“I covered thousands of kilometers in a few days,” wrote Puigdemont (61). “That took a lot of energy out of me. I hope they understand that I need a few hours to rest and get some fresh air.”

There has been an arrest warrant against Puigdemont for seven years. Spanish justice accused him of embezzling public funds. In 2017 he moved to Belgium, where he lived in Waterloo, near Brussels. Yesterday he was back in Catalonia for the first time.

He was able to give a speech at the Catalan parliament unimpeded and then disappeared into a waiting car. Police arrested three Catalan officials after he fled. They suspect that they helped him escape.

Spain has asked Puigdemont to extradite him again, but judges in Belgium and Germany have not responded. Puigdemont was also granted parliamentary immunity after being elected as an MEP in 2019. That status became his in 2021 poverty