Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan leader who has been ousted by the Spanish government, faces imminent arrest after he continued to defy Madrid by standing by the declaration of independence he led in Catalonia’s parliament.
Mr Puigdemont could face more than 30 years in prison and sources from the Spanish public prosecutor’s office said they would demand that he be remanded in custody as soon as he is arrested.
Spain’s prosecution service was already preparing accusations of rebellion and misuse of public funds against Mr Puigdemont for going ahead with an illegal referendum on independence for Catalonia, held on October 1 amid scenes of police violence against hundreds of voters.
Friday’s declaration of independence in Catalonia’s parliament made Mr Puigdemont’s arrest a possibility. His fellow government members and the speaker of the house, Teresa Forcadell, are also at risk for permitting the vote to go ahead.
In a televised address Saturday afternoon, hours after he was officially dismissed by government decree under emergency powers granted to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Mr Puigdemont raised the stakes again by asking Catalans “to defend our conquests” through the use of mass civil disobedience.
Ignoring the fact that he had been formally dismissed from his post, Mr Puigdemont said: “We cannot and do not want to win through force. Not us.”
Catalan activists are preparing to defend the declaration of independence, despite the fact that the…