Ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont escapes arrest in Finland

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Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont escaped detention in Finland on Saturday after Spain issued a European warrant for his arrest, with sources saying he may have returned to Belgium where he has lived in self-imposed exile for months.

Puigdemont, who had been visiting Finland for talks with lawmakers, is wanted by Spain on charges of "rebellion" and "sedition" for supporting his region’s bid for independence last year.

"I confirm that President Puigdemont is no longer in Finland," his lawyer Jaume Alonso Cuevillas tweeted Saturday, without stating where the former leader was.

Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont sits down for his briefing of the situation in Catalonia at the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki, Finland, March 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

Finnish MP Mikko Karna, one of the ousted leader's hosts in Finland, said he had "received information that Carles Puigdemont departed from Finland yesterday evening by unknown means to Belgium," in a statement posted on Twitter.

"Puigdemont confirmed to me today that in Belgium he will fully cooperate with authorities," Karna added.

On Friday, Spain issued international arrest warrants for Puigdemont and five other separatists, including four former ministers who are also in self-imposed exile in Belgium.

Tensions are running high in Catalonia.

Despite winning regional elections in December, separatist parties have still not been able to form a government and with numerous leaders abroad or in jail, they have struggled to re-organise or even remain in politics.

In Barcelona on Saturday, the Catalan parliament suspended a session aimed at electing a new regional leader after regional presidential candidate Jordi Turull was placed in custody over the region's breakaway bid.

"It's clear that under these circumstances the session cannot take place," Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent said.

It is the third time that the parliament has been unable to nominate a new president, after Puigdemont and another pro-independence leader, Jordi Sanchez who is currently in jail, were forced to withdraw their candidacies.

If a new president is not elected by May 22, fresh elections will be triggered.

As long as it does not have a government, Catalonia will remain under direct rule from Madrid, imposed after the independence declaration in October last year.

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Source(s): AFP