Spain Lifts Arrest Warrant for Catalan Leader Puigdemont
Carles Puigdemont can return to Spain for the first time since fleeing in 2017.
Spain has lifted the arrest warrant for Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, a move that allows the politician to return home without fear of detention for the first time in nearly a decade. Puigdemont fled Spain for Belgium in 2017 following his attempt to lead an illegal secession for the northeastern region of Catalonia.
Judge Pablo Llarena lifted the warrant on Tuesday, shortly after Spain's Constitutional Court announced it would apply a government amnesty for Catalan separatists to one of Puigdemont's associates who had been convicted of misusing public funds. Llarena stated he was lifting the warrant for Puigdemont while awaiting an opportunity to review the Constitutional Court's decision, which he anticipates will impact the existing warrant.
Puigdemont's party in Catalonia, Junts, announced that he would hold a press conference later on Tuesday from Waterloo, where he has been living in self-proclaimed exile.