Spain detains Catalan police officers traveling with Puigdemont

The Spanish police detained has detained the two officers of the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, who were with Carles Puigdemont when the deposed president was stopped in Germany on Sunday. According to Spain’s Ministry of Interior, the detentions are the product of investigations by the Spanish attorney general, which is looking into charging the four people accompanying Puigdemont for aiding and abetting.

Spain’s interior ministry began an investigation in February to find out whether the police officers protecting Puigdemont in Belgium were members of the Mossos d’Esquadra police force. One man was found to be a Catalan police officer and disciplinary proceedings were brought against him. The officer is currently on sick leave. The authorities now want to know if the other dozen or more officers protecting the deposed president voluntarily went to Belgium to offer their services on their own time.

The Catalan leader was detained by the German authorities shortly after having crossed the Danish border, traveling from Finland back to Belgium, where he has been residing since the end of 2017. Along with the deposed Catalan president and the two Catalan police officers, were Puigdemont’s two friends Josep Maria Matamala and Josep Lluís Alay, also under investigation for aiding and abetting.

Puigdemont’s detention is following a European Arrest Warrant re-issued by the Spanish judiciary, against the aforementioned as well as other Catalan officials abroad. The warrant includes deposed Education minister Clara Ponsatí, who on Wednesday also turned herself into the authorities in Scotland, the country in which she is currently residing.

Puigdemont himself is still being held in custody in Germany, a situation not set to be re-evaluated until after Easter, with a decision on his extradition potentially taking up to three months.