Economics
Madrid’s ‘Tough’ Approach Sees Catalans Jailed, Sides Entrenched
- Puigdemont, in exile, warns of an attack on region’s democracy
- Judge cites risk of ‘criminal action’ in incarceration order
This article is for subscribers only.
Self-exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont lashed out at Madrid after a court imprisoned separatist leaders who backed an ill-fated declaration of independence, inflaming the movement’s resolve and threatening to deepen Spain’s divisions.
“As the legitimate president, I demand the release of all the members of the Catalan government,” Puigdemont said Thursday in an address on Catalonia television. “This is a grave error. It’s an attack on democracy.”