Catalan police suspend officers who helped Puigdemont flee after return

The Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, has provisionally suspended two of the three officers arrested for helping Carles Puigdemont flee Barcelona on August 8.

It was initially reported that all three had been suspended, but interior minister Núria Parlon has clarified that the third officer is on leave and the suspension procedure cannot be started yet.

The officers have been suspended from their duties without pay.

After their arrest, the three officers were released after testifying before a judge.

One of the afents is the owner of the car that Puigdemont used to flee from the area of Arc de Triomf, and another gave him protection in his brief public appearance.

The chief commissioner, Eduard Sallent, had previously heavily criticized them, saying they did not deserve to wear the uniform of the Mossos.

Puigdemont made a brief return to Catalonia for the first time in seven years on the morning of Salvador Illa's investiture debate on August 8, gave a speech to gathered supporters, and then quickly left the country again. 

There is still an active warrant out for his arrest for his role in organizing the 2017 independence referendum, and it was expected that the police would arrest the former Catalan president that day. 

Instead, Puigdemont is already back in Belgium, where he has been living for years. 

In his first official public event since taking office, Salvador Illa visited the headquarters of the Mossos d'Esquadra to show his support for the police force.