How did Carles Puigdemont avoid arrest after returning to Spain?

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Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont** He returned to Spain on Thursday after nearly seven years on the run from the law.** There is an active arrest warrant out for him, but he has not been arrested.

The fugitive separatist leader Charges of embezzlement of public funds In financing Illegal referendum on October 1, 2017.

However, the charges of rebellion and treason were brought against him on the following charges: Controversial Amnesty Law It was pushed forward by the Pedro Sanchez government after calls from pro-independence groups. swear in as president.

The police should have arrested the Hunts leader and handed him over to the judiciary as soon as he returned to Spain, but that never happened.

during The Appointment of Socialist Salvador Illa DebateDuring a secret meeting in the Catalan parliament, Puigdemont evaded agents after addressing a crowd at Barcelona’s Arc de Triomphe.

As his appearance became public enough to be broadcast on several TV channels, several police sources consulted by Euronews suspected that there was no intention to arrest him at all.

However, Inma Biodes, a spokeswoman for the Mosos Desquadra majority union, told Euronews that arresting Puigdemont at the venue where he spoke would have been impossible because so many people had gathered around him.

“If we went in there with over 2,000 people and arrested Puigdemont, it would create a public order problem and we had to avoid that at all costs,” he said. “We had to find the right moment to arrest him.” That moment never came.

After giving his speech, Fujidemon fled and has not been seen since.

The Unified Police Union has called for an investigation to determine who is responsible for what it considers a “serious mistake.”

How did Fujidemon avoid arrest?

Euronews spoke to the organization’s spokesman, Officer Jacobo Rodríguez, who would not explain how the escape took place and reiterated his anger at not having been arrested.

“The police have a duty to follow judicial orders before political ones. We serve judges and prosecutors. That’s what the Code of Criminal Procedure says. Arrests should have been a priority for the Catalan police.”

The Spanish government has delegated the arrest operation to the local police, despite its synergy with the pro-independence movement. The Mossos d’Esquadra operates under the supervision of the Interior Ministry, which in turn is run by the regional government led by the pro-independence party, Esquerra.

They will ask for an explanation

Inma Biodes, a member of the police force, said he would demand an explanation from the minister, adding that the police themselves were concerned about the “mistake” Puigdemont’s non-arrest represented and the image it would give.

According to the police union JUPOL, the sluggishness of the autonomous police when Puigdemont returned was simply a result of the political will of the Interior Ministry. Puigdemont may have returned after completing his duty under the escort of the Mossos police.

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“If that’s the case, it’s very serious and they’re going to be committing a number of crimes,” Rodriguez said.

A Mossos union spokeswoman confirmed allegations that some of her colleagues worked with Puigdemont to facilitate his escape. One agent has already been arrested and the organization expects more to be arrested.

Spain’s National Police Union has called for an investigation. “There is nothing being done properly here. At the very least there should be political accountability, dismissals or something like that,” a spokesman said.

Putidemont’s inner circle denies agreement with Mossos

But Fujidemon’s aides deny that any order was given not to arrest him, saying doing so would lead to serious legal problems.

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According to ElNacional.cat, the fugitive’s lawyer, Jordi Cabre, doubts that there were any attempts to arrest his client.

In fact, Cabre said there were attempts to capture Puigdemont, including “road searches, pepper spraying residents, and drone strikes.”

It should be remembered that Puigdemont returned to Spain to attend the plenary session of the appointment. Salvador Illa He served as an independent member of parliament, a position his lawyers argued was legal.

“The mission was not to arrest himself, Also, we do not boycott any appointment session.“He was simply trying to exercise his rights as a citizen, as an elected representative, and he still has a vote on this appointment,” Cabre said.

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But the reality is that Fujidemon has once again evaded justice and the arrest warrant, something that Mossos’s Viewdes regrets.

The sequence of events has not yet been explained. The main hypothesis is that the police planned to arrest him on his way from the Arc de Triomphe to the Parliament.

Timeline

At 8:58 a.m. on Thursday, the pro-independence leader got out of his car, surrounded by supporters, and raced towards a stage set up by his party, Huntz, at Barcelona’s Arc de Triomphe.

According to Euronews’ reliable sources, several Mossos agents and plainclothes officers were present, but he was not detained for public order reasons.

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The agents thought that after his speech, he would go to the Congress to attend the appointment meeting of Salvador Illa, which was to begin at 10 o’clock. He did not do so, and they lost track of him when he did not follow the expected route.

Barcelona is now facing “Operation Cage”, a protocol designed to surround the city with a fence and prevent Puigdemon from leaving. Viudes says controls are being implemented at all main access points, which “is causing inconvenience to citizens, difficulties and long traffic jams on Catalan roads”. So far, to no avail.

Jacobo Rodriguez of the Unified Police Union described the operation as “useless and ineffective as long as his whereabouts are unknown.”

All evidence suggests that Puigdemont fled in the boot of a car, just as he did in 2017 after briefly declaring a Catalan republic and being brought to court.

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Images are circulating of a vehicle intercepted by Mosos, showing a spare wheel on the front seat. This wheel would normally be in the trunk, unless the driver needs space to carry something or someone.

This is only a hypothesis at this point, but investigations are ongoing.

“It’s possible it’s in the boot, it could be,” Rodriguez told Euronews. “But usually in ‘Operation Cage’ the boot is always a visible part of the vehicle.”

It seems that this fugitive from justice has done it again. Puigdemon’s whereabouts are currently unknown. This is the second time he has defied Spanish justice and evaded arrest, striking a blow to Spanish democracy, the rule of law and equality among citizens. As the agents consulted by Euronews said, anyone else in his situation would have been dealt with by the courts by now.

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