Spain – Violent Clashes In Barcelona After Puigdemont Arrest In Germany (Video)

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A few hours after their democratically elected President Mr Carles Puigdemont was arrested in Germany (at Spain’s request) for having ordered his regional parliament last year to vote on a possible secession from Spain, protesters gathered in Barcelona and clashes with police forces erupted soon after.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Breaking: Demonstrators clash with police in Barcelona after the arrest of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont in Germany. <a href="https://t.co/YU18sYX7af">pic.twitter.com/YU18sYX7af</a></p>&mdash; PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMBreakingNews/status/977951756654137345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The Barcelonese are furious over the arrest of their leader Puigdemont who was stopped as he drove his car into Germany, coming from Denmark this morning.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Esto es como cuando los alemanes nos entregaron a Companys.<br><br>De nuevo unida la extrema derecha nazi de Merkel y el franquismo de M.Rajoy.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Puigdemont?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Puigdemont</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LlibertatPresosPol%C3%ADtics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LlibertatPresosPolítics</a> <a href="https://t.co/LqZsph4l5W">pic.twitter.com/LqZsph4l5W</a></p>&mdash; CRM (@CarlaR_M) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarlaR_M/status/977869167239094273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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After the Spanish high court had ordered a new European arrest warrant whilst Mr Puigdemont was speaking at a University in Helsinki, Finland (invited by the Finnish University Board), he decided it would be unwise to board a flight back to Belgium where he is renting a house and thus rented a car for the drive back to Belgium.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First videos of clashes between separatist protestors and riot police in Barcelona coming in.<br>Via <a href="https://twitter.com/eldiarioes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@eldiarioes</a> <a href="https://t.co/K7x0idVCc3">pic.twitter.com/K7x0idVCc3</a></p>&mdash; The Spain Report (@thespainreport) <a href="https://twitter.com/thespainreport/status/977942114125348864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The border crossing between Finland and Sweden as well as the one between Sweden and Denmark went without a glitch, but soon after he had entered Germany, Mr Puigdemont was stopped by police and arrested.

Related coverage: http://thegoldwater.com/news/21448-Breaking-Catalan-Leader-Puigdemont-Arrested-In-Germany

Meanwhile, the German consulate in Barcelona is surrounded by many thousands of angry protesters already as Europe wait for word from Chancellor Merkel.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thousands surrounding the German consulate in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Barcelona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Barcelona</a>, following the Puigdemont detention, earlier today in Germany <a href="https://t.co/qaN33mfbvh">pic.twitter.com/qaN33mfbvh</a></p>&mdash; 15MBcn_int (@15MBcn_int) <a href="https://twitter.com/15MBcn_int/status/977962286596939778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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According to Spanish law, Mr Puigdemont risks a jail term of 30 years imprisonment for rebellion against the state.

Source:

https://twitter.com/AP/status/977957320750784512