Spanish Supreme Court issues European arrest warrant for former Catalonia head Puigdemont

Spain’s Supreme Court has issued a European arrest warrant for the former head of Catalonia’s regional government, Carles Puigdemont. He now lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium.

In July 2018, the Spanish court dropped a warrant after Germany refused to extradite him.

The Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine Catalan leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in a failed independence bid, triggering protests across the region.

Puigdemont described the prison sentences as an “atrocity.”