Former Catalan chief Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Spain in 2017 after a failed secession bid for the northeastern area, has been detained in Sardinia, Italy, his lawyer mentioned.
Puigdemont, who lives in Belgium and now holds a seat within the European Parliament, is preventing extradition to Spain, which accused him and different Catalan independence leaders of treason.
Lawyer Gonzalo Boye mentioned Puigdemont was detained on Thursday upon arrival in Sardinia, the place he was attributable to attend an occasion later this week.
The circumstances beneath which Puigdemont was taken into custody weren’t instantly clear.
Boe wrote on Twitter that the previous regional president was detained beneath a 2019 European arrest warrant, despite the fact that it was suspended.
Police on the airport in northern Sardinia didn’t reply to telephone calls Thursday evening, whereas police within the metropolis of Alghero mentioned they weren’t conscious of his detention.
The European Parliament voted in March to take away the immunity of Puigdemont and two of his allies. In July the European Union’s General Court mentioned that three EU lawmakers who had failed to revive their immunity had not demonstrated that they had been at risk of being arrested.
Sardinian media reported earlier this week that he was attributable to attend an occasion in Alghero on Sunday, so his look on the Mediterranean island was anticipated. Sardinian media additionally reported that Puigdemont had been invited by a pro-Sardinian separatist group.
Puigdemont’s workplace mentioned in a press release that he had traveled from Brussels to Alghero to attend a folklore competition, the place he was arrested by Italian police. On Friday, Puigdemont will seem earlier than a choose within the metropolis of Sassari to resolve whether or not he must be freed, the assertion mentioned.
Puigdemont and a number of other of his separatist allies fled to Belgium in October 2017, fearing arrest after holding an independence referendum for Catalonia, which was declared unlawful by Spanish courts and the federal government.
Nine Catalan separatists obtained jail sentences for his or her roles starting from 9 to 13 years within the 2017 referendum. He was pardoned in July.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
