Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont accused the Spanish government of blocking his right to speak and vote after narrowly evading police following a surprise return to Barcelona.
Puigdemont, who has been living in exile in Belgium since 2017, made a bold public appearance at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona earlier this week. Shortly after, he vanished before authorities could arrest him. On Friday night, he announced on social media platform X that he was back in Waterloo, Belgium, after what he described as “extremely difficult days.”
The former Catalan president returned to Barcelona on the day the Catalan parliament was voting on Socialist Salvador Illa’s investiture as the region’s new president. In a video posted on X, Puigdemont explained that he intended to attend the session to exercise his “right to speak and vote,” but claimed that a police operation had been set up to prevent his entry.”
Trying to access the parliament would have been equivalent to a voluntary surrender, and my intention has never been to surrender,” he said, accusing judicial authorities of “playing politics.”
Meanwhile, newly elected President Illa officially took office on Saturday, vowing to “govern for everyone” while respecting the “diversity and plurality” of Catalonia. The members of his new government will be announced next week, with key appointments including Núria Parlon as interior minister and the reinstatement of Josep Lluís Trapero as the head of the Catalan police force.
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