Ex-Ctalan Leader, Carles Puigdemont who was recently sacked by Spanish authorities has turned himself in to Belgium Police after the European Union issued an EU-wide warrant seeking his arrest. Apart from Puigdemont, Al Jazeera, reports that "four other cabinet members also turned themselves in at 9.17am local time on Sunday. The five are due to appear in court on Sunday when an investigative judge will decide whether to detain or release them."
The warrant which was issued by EU on Friday is billed to be contested by Puigdemont who claimed that he traveled to Spain to avoid violence contrary to claims that he fled the country after Catalonia conducted a referendum and subsequently declared independence from Spain.
A prosecutor was credited as saying "[Puigdemont] was saying all along he was going to cooperate with the judicial authorities here. He is now in the hands of police having surrendered himself. "If they give good grounds for resisting those arrest warrants, the case will go to another court ... This process could, under special circumstances, take up to 90 days."
The crisis rocking the country started on October 1 after Puigdemont declared and suspended Catalonia's independence from Spain before unsuccessfully calling for dialogue with Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. Although the Catalan parliament voted to secede by endorsing the result of the referendum, Spanish authorities dissolved the regional government through the 'never -before-used' Article 155 of the constitution.
The dissolution of the government paved way for the arrest of eight former Catalan Ministers. The Ministers have since been charged with sedition, rebellion and misuse of funds.
Puigdemont and other minister billed to testify in the matter fled to Belgium, thus necessitating the warrant of arrest by the EU. Recall that EU had earlier warned that it would not recognize an independent Catalan government.
