Carles Puigdemont is free to await the decision to extradite him to Spain. Become the former Catalan leader Arrested last night On the Italian island of Sardinia, where he will attend a cultural festival.

His lawyer expects it will take several weeks before it becomes clear whether Puigdemont will be extradited to Spain. In the meantime, the Catalans are not allowed to leave the island.

Puigdemont fled Spain in 2017 after holding a referendum on Catalonia’s independence as regional leader. The Spanish government called the referendum illegal and sentenced nine Catalan separatists to years in prison. Puigdemont also faces 25 years in prison upon his return.

Spain has repeatedly requested the extradition of Puigdemont, but judges in both Belgium and Germany have refused. Puigdemont also enjoyed parliamentary immunity after he was elected to the European Parliament in 2019. This status became the Earlier this year He was excluded or taken away.

Demonstrations

Puigdemont visited Sardinia because some of the islanders speak Catalan and traditionally advocated the island’s independence from Italy. After his arrest, some demonstrators gathered at the police station and chanted, “Freedom, freedom.”

In Barcelona, ​​too, people took to the streets in droves today to show their support for Puigdemont. Catalan leaders question the Spanish government’s willingness to find a compromise. “The solution can only come through direct discussion, not through the courts.”