Spain’s High Court is likely to issue a warrant for the arrest of the former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont after the pro-independence leader failed to appear at a court hearing on Thursday.

Spain’s High Court issued a summons for Puigdemont and 13 of his colleagues to appear in the Madrid-based court on Thursday and Friday.

The summons, issued Wednesday, came after Spain’s chief prosecutor called for charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement to be brought against Puigdemont and other members of the Catalan government and parliament for their roles in a pro-independence movement and declaration of independence.

It appears likely that a European arrest warrant is now likely to be made by a High Court judge.

“When someone doesn’t appear after being cited by a judge to testify, in Spain or any other EU country, normally an arrest warrant is issued,” Supreme Court President Carlos Lesmes said, according to Reuters.

Instead, Puigdemont and four of his colleagues traveled to Brussels in Belgium and hired a lawyer. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Puigdemont said he was not in the Belgian capital to escape justice but to “put the Catalan issue at the heart of the European Union.”

Puigdemont’s lawyer Paul Bekaert told Reuters that his client would not travel to Spain where the political climate was “not good,” but would cooperate with Spanish and Belgian justice.

A decision on a warrant for his arrest is expected to follow the testimonies of the remaining nine members of Puigdemont’s sacked cabinet who have appeared in court.

If Puigdemont is arrested it would make it unlikely that he could participate in regional elections, called by Spain after it sacked the Catalan government last week, on December 21.

Source: cnbc
Spain's chief prosecutor calls for arrest of Catalan leader Puigdemont