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Madrid Requests Reactivation of Arrest Warrant for Former Catalan Leader


Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont arrives at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, Jan. 22, 2018.
Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont arrives at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, Jan. 22, 2018.

Spain's state prosecutors asked the country's Supreme Court Monday to reactivate an international arrest warrant for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

Puigdemont is in Denmark to take part in a debate on Catalonia at the University of Copenhagen Monday and meet Danish lawmakers on Tuesday.

It is not clear whether the Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, who is handling the case, will grant it.

Madrid had threatened to issue a warrant for Puigdemont’s arrest if he left Belgium, where he fled to avoid prosecution over his role in Catalonia's independence vote in October.

This is the first time that Puigdemont has traveled outside Belgium. He has been living in Brussels since he was fired by Spain's central government, immediately after his regional administration declared independence from Spain.

Puigdemont and four members of his ousted government have been fighting return to Spain to face rebellion, sedition and embezzlement, charges that can be punished with decades in prison under Spanish law.

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