Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont returned to Spain after seven years in exile, despite an active arrest warrant. Puigdemont fled to Belgium in 2017 after holding an illegal independence referendum in Catalonia. Upon his return, he was greeted by supporters in Barcelona, where he delivered a brief speech, reviving the call for Catalonia’s independence. The Spanish police initiated a large-scale operation to apprehend him, setting up roadblocks and controlling city entrances and exits.
Puigdemont’s return is seen as an attempt to pressure the Supreme Court into applying a new amnesty law for Catalan officials to his case and to influence the election of the new Catalan leader. Despite the recent amnesty law passed for Catalan officials involved in the 2017 referendum, the Supreme Court ruled that Puigdemont would not be eligible for this amnesty.