Madrid: Virtual politics unknown when he first chose to lead Catalonia in 2016, Carles Puigdemont became the face of the area’s independence movement when he pioneered the referendum the following year to stay away from Spain.
The former 58-year-old journalist lived in exile in Belgium since the 2017 voting, which Spain was wants accused of incitement.
He was arrested on arrival on Italian Island Sardinia on Thursday and is expected to appear in court on Friday at a hearing that could see it extradited to Spain after four years as a fugitive.
Born in Amer, a small village of mountains consisting of 2,200 people in Catalonia, the second of eight siblings, Puigdemont showed himself a separatist who was loyal to the early stages.
He never hid his tendency to separate it, even when he joined the Conservative CDC party in 1980 at that time just wanting to negotiate greater autonomy to Catalonia, rather than a full break from Spain.
“In Catalonia, many people become separatists in allergic reactions to Madrid’s policy.
Not Him, he always has this belief,” Antoni Puigverd, a poet and journalist who knew Puigdemont, said in 2019.
For 17 years, Puigdemont worked for the region The Nationalist Daily Newspaper El Punt and also the Mayor of Girona City, Separatist Fortress, from 2011 to 2016.
Father Two, Puigdemont was chosen for the presidency of Catalan in 2016 with a mandate to direct the independence.
It is not known outside the circle of self-government, he pushed into the global spotlight in October 2017 when his executive held a referendum which was prohibited from determining his own determination, damaged by police violence, which was attended by a declaration of short-lived independence.
Madrid immediately fired Puigdemont and his executive, dissolved the regional parliament, which was called taking local elections and imposed a direct government in the northeastern region of the semi-autonomous, northeast.
The central government stated that the election results that violated the law and Puigdemont were forced to escape to Belgium, where he lived since avoiding prosecution.
“For everyone who wants to demean us, to silence us, I told them that we will defend themselves,” he said when in exile.
Activists and Catalan “Minister” who were close to Puigdemont were arrested and sentenced to prison for deciles in 2019 during the trial held without him.
Nine forgiven in June by the Government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at this time.
Although it is sometimes labeled by the defense as “fugitive” or “cowardem”, Puigdemont continues to be involved in politics with his party together for Catalonia, and was chosen as MEP in 2019.
His replacement as the leader of Catalan, PE Aragones, was considered a pro-independence activist More moderate and his term of office has seen the relationship between Barcelona and Madrid become less full.