European arrest warrants issued for Catalan politicians

A Spanish judge issued a European arrest warrant for Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont Friday evening and for four other members of his cabinet who are currently in Belgium.

On Thursday, the five separatist leaders who flew to Brussels early this week skipped their required appearance at a court hearing in Madrid. But of the nine ministers who did attend the hearing, eight were sent into pre-trial detention without the possibility of bail.

Puigdemont and his entire cabinet face the extremely serious charges of rebellion, sedition and misappropriation of funds after last week's independence proclamation in the Catalan Parliament.

According to the judge, in recent months, the Catalan politicians "encouraged and used intimidating and violent force from the independent sectors of the population, calling for insurrection and challenging the constitutional order".

Puigdemont's lawyer told media earlier this week that the ex-Catalan president would fight extradition. Despite everything, earlier on Friday, Puigdemont said in an interview with Belgian television that he is still considering running in Catalonia's Dec. 21 snap election.

"I'm willing to be a candidate… even from Brussels. Today we are in a globalized world," he said in the RTBF interview.

On Thursday evening, thousands of pro-separatist Catalans took to the streets in protest of the arrests of the former regional leaders. A pro-independence union has also called for a general strike to take place next Wednesday.