After returning to Barcelona on Thursday and then vanishing under the eyes of the media and the police, Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is reportedly on his way back to Belgium.
The General-Secretary of the Junts per Catalunya party Jordi Turull told Catalan public radio RAC1 on Friday that his colleague was on his way back home to Waterloo.
Turull added that he was not aware if Puigdemont had successfully reached the Walloon town yet, but reportedly spent the night just over the border in France. It appears that the Catalan leader had been in Barcelona since Tuesday.
Puigdemont's daring escape had not been planned, according to Turull, who said that he had intended to stay in Catalonia. Instead, the escape was a response to the "unprecedented" increase in the presence of the police on Thursday, adding that the former Catalan prime minister "is not Hannibal Lecter".
After announcing his return to Spain from the self-imposed exile in Belgium on Wednesday, Puigdemont appeared for the first time in seven years on the streets of Barcelona on Thursday morning.
He was able to reach the arches of the Arc de Triomf, not far from the Catalan Parliament, and deliver a speech to over 1,500 fans and independence supporters. It was believed Puigdemont was going to attend the inauguration of the new parliament, even if Catalan police force had blocked all the entrances to the park where it is located.
Credit: Belga
Organisers of the event had asked supporters to form a human chain around the separatist leader, which was then initiated with police and media following closely. The police wanted to avoid a scene by arresting him on stage, but given he was headed to parliament, were set to detain him upon entry to the parliament.
Yet, this turned out to be a massive diversion tactic. It quickly emerged that Puigdemont had vanished right under the eyes of TV cameras and the police, and was not in the human chain.
After going into lockdown, police closed off roads and began to search people’s cars to no avail.
Later in the day, it emerged that Puigdemont had hidden behind a white screen behind the stage while the human chain marched towards parliament. It is believed he was able to escape in the boot of the car of a white Honda owned by a member of the Catalan police force, who has since been arrested.
Puigdemont has an arrest warrant still open against him despite the amnesty law, as the Supreme Court ruled on 1 July that one of the charges (misuse of public funds) was not admissible under the law.
