Madrid threatens to arrest Catalan leader

Catalonia Referendum Independence Catalan leader Madrid PuigdemontCatalonia. Photo: Pixabay.com

Madrid threatens to arrest Catalan leader

Spain’s Attorney General does not rule out the possibility that Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont will be arrested due to arranging a referendum Madrid deems as being illegal.

 

But the legal conditions for an arrest must be in place, Attorney General, Jose Manuel Maza, states on Monday.

Castillian Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has repeatedly insisted that the referendum on Catalyuna leaving Spain will not be allowed to take place.

He and his Conservative People’s Party (PP) insist that the referendum is illegal, and the legislation in Catalonia that opens the vote has been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court in Madrid.

Madrid thwarts every effort

The prosecutor general has announced that anyone involved in the organization of the referendum will be charged with civil disobedience, abuse of their position and embezzlement of public funds. Maza says that Puigdemont can be arrested for squandering public funds, which is a punishable offense

The prosecutor has already asked the police to investigate all attempts to organize the vote and ordered an investigation of 700 Catalan mayors. The police have also impounded about ten million ballots other items related to voting stations.

The Government of Catalonia will nonetheless let the referendum run its course. Polls show that the Catalans are divided, with a small majority that are probably against sovereignty, while a vat majority believes that the referendum must be allowed to be held.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today