A Spanish judge has issued a European arrest warrant for Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four members of his ousted cabinet, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. All are currently in Belgium, and failed to attend a High Court hearing in Madrid on Thursday.
A further eight sacked ministers from the former Catalan government have been jailed by a Spanish judge over their involvement in the regional parliament's unilateral declaration of independence last week. The ministers face charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds.
The Spanish High Court ordered that the eight ministers be held in pre-trial detention after they were questioned over their secession bid on Thursday (2 November). Those detained include former deputy Catalan premier Oriol Junqueras, Interior Minister Joaquim Forn, Foreign Affairs Minister Raül Romeva and Justice Minister Carles Mundó.
The entire Catalan government was ousted on 28 October after regional lawmakers voted to break away from Spain, plunging the country into a constitutional crisis. Deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont fled to Brussels after his government was dissolved. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said that an asylum request from the Catalan leader was "absolutely not on the agenda."
Puigdemont faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty of sedition, rebellion and misspending of public funds. Hours after the Spanish government issued a decree formally dismissing him from his post, Puigdemont urged Catalonians "to defend our conquests" through mass civil disobedience.
Puigdemont did not appear in court on Thursday and the state prosecutor has issued a European warrant for his arrest. A warrant has also been issued for four other dismissed ministers who did not turn up to court. The deposed leader has said he will not return to Spain unless he is guaranteed that he and the four ministers will be granted a fair trial.
Spain's state attorney José Manuel Maza announced on Monday (30 October) that he would ask for the charges to be brought against senior members of Puigdemont's former administration, including the speaker of the Catalan parliament, Teresa Forcadell.
