Detention of Ex-Catalan Head Based on European Arrest Warrant - Justice Ministry

Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany on March 25, when he was crossing the border from Denmark, on his way to Belgium from Finland.

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont had left Finland before the country's police could arrest him in line with an arrest warrant issued by Spain, Puigdemont's lawyer Jaume Alonso Cuevillas announced earlier. The ex-head of Catalonia is currently being held at a police station.

At the same time, Puigdemont said earlier in the week that he was ready for talks with the central government, and believed that his return would be evidence of the normalization of politics and democracy in Spain.

Vote on Turull’s Candidacy for Catalan Presidency Revoked - Parliament's Speaker

24 March 2018, 13:21 GMT

On October 1, 2017, Catalonia held a referendum on the region's independence from Spain. The vast majority of voters backed secession. The plebiscite was not, however, recognized by Madrid, which subsequently imposed direct rule over the autonomous region and dismissed its government.

Spanish authorities have opened a criminal case against 30 Catalan politicians and officials, arresting four of them, while Puigdemont, as well as several advisers of the dissolved Catalan government, fled Spain before the trial.