Spanish courts are likely to issue a European arrest warrant for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont after he failed to appear at a Spanish court hearing on Thursday, Spain's top judge said.
Carles Puigdemont. Pic/AFP
Puigdemont's lawyer in Belgium, where he has travelled with four members of his sacked cabinet, said the climate in Spain was "not good" and his client wanted to take "some distance"; but he would cooperate with the courts.
"If they ask, he will cooperate with Spanish and Belgian justice," said lawyer Paul Bekaert. "When someone doesn't appear after being cited by a judge to testify, in Spain or any other EU country, normally an arrest warrant is issued," said Supreme Court President Carlos Lesmes.
