By Joan Faus
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said on Wednesday he was returning after seven years in self-imposed exile to Spain, where he would likely be arrested over his role in the region’s 2017 independence bid.
His arrest and potential imprisonment before facing trial could unleash fresh turmoil in Catalonia and scupper the fragile Socialist-led coalition ruling Spain, which relies on Puigdemont’s hardline Junts party to pass legislation.
As a condition set by Junts for its legislative support for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government, Spain’s parliament in May approved an amnesty law aimed at allowing Puigdemont’s return from Belgium by cancelling legal proceedings against hundreds of separatists involved in Catalonia’s 2017 illegal referendum.
But Spain’s Supreme Court said last month the amnesty should not apply to a charge of embezzlement against Puigdemont and uphold an arrest warrant he faces.
Still, Puigdemont said he remained committed to being present when the Catalan parliament would be scheduled to swear in the region’s new leader following an election in May in which Puigdemont finished second.
On Wednesday, Puigdemont said he would keep his word and be in Barcelona on Thursday.
“I have started the return trip from exile,” he said in a video posted on X, adding he intended to attend Thursday’s session which is poised to appoint Socialist Salvador Illa as the new Catalan president, ending over a decade of separatist governments.
Puigdemont’s supporters plan to gather and welcome him on Thursday morning on a Barcelona avenue near the regional parliament, setting the stage for a potentially dramatic arrest witnessed by reporters and bystanders.
Neither Puigdemont nor Junts on Wednesday said whether he had already entered Spain.
In the video message, Puigdemont said his arrest would be illegal and arbitrary.
His arrest would end to close to seven years avoiding Spanish justice. If the judge in charge of his case issues a pre-trial imprisonment, Puigdemont is expected to appeal for his release to Spain’s Constitutional Court, which has a majority of progressive-leaning judges.
(Reporting by Joan Faus; editing by Charlie Devereux)
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