Spain’s Supreme Court on Friday demanded an explanation from the Socialist government and Catalan police over the malfunction of a device installed to detain independence leader Carles Puigdemont during his fleeting return to Spain.
Judge Pablo Larena, who is leading the trial against the independence movement, has sent two urgent requests to the Interior Ministry and the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) asking for information “on the police device approved and installed, ready to detain Puigdemont”, as well as “the elements that determined its failure from a technical-police point of view”. The judge also demands to know who was “responsible for planning the device, its approval and its implementation”. At the Interior Ministry, the judge also asked “what orders were given for his detention at the border and after his escape”.
The government of Pedro Sánchez has ruled out any responsibility for the escape of Puigdemont, who has been wanted by the Spanish justice system since 2017, saying the entire operation was led by the Mossos d’Escadre. The police, who mobilized more than 600 agents to try to apprehend Puigdemont, said they thought it would have been “more appropriate” to carry out the arrest after the speech, when the independence leader addressed parliament, but he managed to evade surveillance “by putting on a straw hat” identical to those worn by many protesters, and he managed to escape in a car without agents being able to stop him.
Younts general secretary Jordi Turull said on Friday that Puigdemont had arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday and spent two nights in the city before making a public appearance on Thursday morning. “I later accompanied him myself to the French border,” he added. The independence leader’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, confirmed that Puigdemont had already returned to his residence in Waterloo, Belgium.
demands layoffs
On Friday, the People’s Party demanded the “sudden resignation” of the interior and defense ministers and asked for Prime Minister Sanchez to be heard in parliament.
changed my mind
Puigdemont intended to go to the Catalan parliament after his speech, but changed his mind because of the heavy police presence, his lawyer said.
The deal is under threat
Junts has announced that he will “re-evaluate” parliamentary support for the Sanchez government. “We have to see if it still makes sense,” he says.
Author: Ricardo Ramos
Source: CM Jornal
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