Puigdemont Defies Arrest, Rallies in Barcelona

Former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont defied an arrest warrant to appear at a rally in the Spanish city of Barcelona after seven years of self-imposed exile, and then vanished before police could arrest him.

Amid a heavy police presence, Puigdemont spoke to a crowd of thousands of followers in the Catalan capital from a platform near the Catalan parliament before disappearing backstage.

He told the crowd he aimed to revive the independence drive that plunged Spain into a political crisis seven years ago.

"Today, many thought they'd be celebrating my arrest, and thought that this punishment would dissuade us - and you... Well, they are wrong." he said.

Supporters of Spain's far-right Vox party protested outside Catalonia's parliament after separatist leader Carles Puigdemont's return from exile despite an arrest warrant where he addressed a crowd of supporters in Barcelona.

Puigdemont briefly addressed his separatist supporters from a stage and then was not seen again.

The crowds then made their way to parliament without him while police activated a manhunt which was later called off.

Authorities suspect that, when he had finished speaking, Puigdemont got into a white car belonging to a police officer and left the vicinity, a Catalan interior department spokesperson said, sparking a frantic search by authorities.

The regional police, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, said two of its officers had been arrested as part of their investigation into Mr. Puigdemont’s whereabouts, including the owner of the car.

The separatist leader, 61, fled to Belgium seven years ago after a failed secession bid and has been living in exile ever since.

He faces an arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement related to a 2017 independence referendum ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis.