Ex-Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Spain for the first time since fleeing the country after his 2017 independence ballot.
Separatist leader Carles Puigdemont appeared before supporters in Barcelona on Thursday after spending seven years in self-imposed exile.
Puigdemont, who is the subject of an arrest warrant over his role in a failed independence bid, returned to Spain for the first time in seven years.
Puigdemont appeared on stage surrounded by officials of his hardline separatist party Junts to address thousands of cheering supporters in Catalan.
“Despite them wanting to damage us, I have come here today to remind them that we are still here,” he said.
“We don’t have the right to give up because the right to self-determination belongs to the Catalan people.”
“It will never be a crime to hold a referendum.”
More to come…
Credit: DW news
