Catalonia’s deposed separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said he would stay put in Brussels after being dismissed by the Spanish government, but denied he would seek asylum to avoid possible rebellion charges. “I am not here in order to demand asylum,” Puigdemont told a packed news conference in Brussels.
He said he was in Belgium “for safety purposes and freedom”, without detailing how long he would stay.
After being axed, the 54-year-old reportedly drove hundreds of kilometres from Catalonia to Marseille in southern France with several members of his dismissed cabinet and then flew to Belgium. His departure is the latest twist in the saga over semi- autonomous Catalonia’s drive for independence that has presented Spain with its biggest political crisis in decades.