The former leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, has not been arrested and has already traveled to Belgium, said the general secretary of the Together for Catalonia party, Jordi Turull.
“Puigdemont is already on his way to Waterloo. I’m in Catalonia, Spain, and I’m traveling by car to meet my family, who are on vacation,” Turull told the “RAC1” media service.
Yesterday, despite a warrant for his arrest, Puigdemont appeared at a rally in Barcelona and then disappeared, prompting a police investigation.
Despite heavy police security, Puigdemont addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters in the Catalan capital from a stage set up not far from the Catalan parliament.
After the speech he left the stage and the police and the media were unable to find him. The pursuit of Puigdemont caused a traffic collapse in Barcelona, while a blockade was set up not far from the border with France.
The search was later called off.
Puigdemont heads the Together for Catalonia party and was Catalonia’s leader in 2016 and 2017, before leaving Spain for Belgium after the failed Catalan independence referendum.