Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont arrested by German police
German authorities have 60 days to decide whether to extradite Carles Puigdemont
Catalan’s separatist former leader, Carles Puigdemont, has been detained by German police under a European arrest warrant.
Puigdemont, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Brussels since October, was travelling by car from Finland to Belgium when he was detained on Sunday.
The arrest follows the Spanish government’s decision to reactivat an international arrest warrant for the Catalan leader on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
German media reports the arrest was made following a tip-off from Spain’s intelligence agency to German federal police.
“The flight of the coup plotter has come to an end,” said Albert Rivera, leader of Spain’s centre-right Citizens party, according to The Guardian. “There can be no impunity for those who try to destroy European democracy, flout democratic laws, destroy people’s coexistence and misuse public funds.”
But Elsa Artadi, a spokeswoman for the Together for Catalonia party, tweeted: “There is no guarantee of justice in Spain, only revenge and repression.”
German authorities now have 60 days to decide whether to extradite Puigdemont to Spain, where he could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of organising the illegal referendum, which precipitated Catalonia’s unilateral declaration of independence in October.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
Funeral in Berlin: Scholz pulls the plug on his coalition
Talking Point In the midst of Germany's economic crisis, the 'traffic-light' coalition comes to a 'ignoble end'
By The Week UK Published