Carles Puigdemont was arrested by German police under a European arrest warrant. After the former Catalan leader crossed from Denmark into Germany, he was detained immediately, BBC reported.
The former Catalan president who spent several months in the self-imposed exile in Brussels continued to travel in a car throughout the EU countries. Last weekend, Mr Puigdemont visited Finnish lawmakers in Helsinki and on the way from Finland to Belgium on Sunday he was detained by German policemen.
Puigdemont’s spokesman said :
“Carles Puigdemont has been detained in Germany as he crossed from Denmark en route to Belgium. He has been properly treated throughout and is right now in a police station. He was on his way to Belgium where he would be, as always, at the disposal of Belgian justice,”
reads a statement.
On Sunday afternoon Carles Puigdemont was transferred to Neumünster prison in northern Schleswig-Holstein while the authorities in Schleswig-Holstein are investigating whether Puigdemont would be placed into extradition custody. News of the arrest sparked protests in Barcelona that turned violent, with three arrests and at least 52 people injured.
According to the local newspaper Kieler Nachrichten, Puigdemont was considering applying for asylum in Germany, for him, it could be the optimal option despite the chances of that are relatively slim.
In Barcelona, the news about Puidgemont arrest caused the protests, crowd of several thousand people gathered outside the office of the European commission chanting “no more repression” and “general strike”. They later made their way to demonstrate outside the German consulate. Traffic go-slows on several main roads and 52 injured people are the only results of the protest.
