The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and four other regional ministers who have outstanding arrest warrants presented themselves voluntarily to Belgian police on Sunday, the VRT public broadcaster reported.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy invoked constitutional powers last month to reassert his authority over Catalonia and fire Puigdemont and his government. Since then, eight politicians and two activists have been jailed pending trial, and arrest warrants have been issued for five others, including Puigdemont, who fled
to Belgium to try to run a government in exile.
Activists in Barcelona were left rudderless and divided when Puigdemont bolted following his ejection from power. Rajoy called elections for December 21.
But the spectacle of the jailed leaders has also reinvigorated
the movement and thrust the
constitutional crisis into the international spotlight.
The latest opinion poll published on Saturday by La Vanguardia newspaper shows the result of the December elections is too close to call.
The survey by pollster GAD3 showed the secessionist group including ERC and PDeCAT that received a majority in 2015 with the backing of the radical party CUP cannot rely on winning.
The same platform with CUP support would get between 66 and 69 seats in new elections compared with the 68 needed for a majority and the 72 they won two years ago, according to the poll taken from October 30 to November 3. The judge ordered jail for eight ousted members of the Catalan government on November 2.
Puigdemont had said on Saturday that he will cooperate with Belgian authorities on the arrest order. Under European arrest-warrant procedures, individuals are detained and brought before judges within 24 hours.
A court then has 15 days to decide whether to execute the arrest order, according to the Belgian Justice Ministry.
Including time for possible appeals, a final decision must be taken within three months. Puigdemont would then have
to be surrendered to Spain within 10 days.
“I won’t flee justice; I’m willing to submit to justice, but to real justice,†the ousted leader said in an interview with Belgium’s RTBF television on Friday. He said the Spanish courts “can’t guarantee a fair and independent sentence that will be free of the enormous weight and influence of politics.â€
“You mustn’t forget that we’re the legitimate government,†Puigdemont said.