Sacked Catalan president flees to Belgium, may seek asylum

Few hours after the Spanish central government took direct control of Catalonia on Monday, replacing sacked officials, sacked Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont has been spotted in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

Puigdemont’s presence was confirmed by a lawyer he recently hired in Belgium, Paul Bekaert, who said he (Puigdemont) had not gone into hiding and did not confirm whether he would seek asylum.

“He has full rights to be here, there is nothing against him at this moment.” Asked whether the Catalan leader was planning to seek asylum in Belgium, he added: “We’re keeping all options open – nothing has been decided.”

Read also: Catalonia leader faces final deadline to drop secession bid

Meanwhile, Spain’s chief prosecutor has called for rebellion charges to be brought against Puigdemont and other organisers of Catalonia’s banned independence referendum.

It suspended the region’s autonomy and called for fresh elections after Mr Puigdemont and his government declared independence last week.

Theo Francken, Belgium’s immigration minister, said last week that Catalan ministers could apply for political asylum in Belgium, adding that he had doubts over whether Mr Puigdemont and others would get a fair trial in Spain, “but Prime Minister Charles Michel later said it was “absolutely not on the agenda”.

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