Ex-Catalan president 'is planning to copy Julian Assange and seek refuge in an embassy in Brussels to avoid charges in Spain'

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The former Catalan president is planning to copy Julian Assange and seek refuge in an embassy in Brussels to avoid charges in Spain, it has been claimed.

Carles Puigdemont, who is said to be staying in a hotel in the Belgium capital, is facing the threat of arrest and extradition if he snubs a court summons in Madrid tomorrow to answer accusations of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement.

But reports in Spain are claiming the 'desperate' 54-year-old may now follow the path of Wikileaks founder Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than five years after successfully claiming diplomatic asylum once inside.

A Spanish newspaper claimed the father-of-two could seek safe haven in a sympathetic embassy in Belgium or elsewhere to avoid immediate incarceration if he is forced back to Madrid, financial ruin and a possible 30 year jail sentence if convicted of rebellion. 

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 The former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (pictured) is planning to copy Julian Assange and seek refuge in an embassy in Brussels to avoid charges in Spain, it has been claimed

reports in Spain are claiming the 'desperate' 54-year-old may now follow the path of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (pictured), who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than five years after successfully claiming diplomatic asylum once inside

His Belgian lawyer Paul Bekeart has claimed he will not return to Spain, claiming he 'prefers to observe and wait' after Puigdemont's insistence he was unlikely to get a fair trial if he heads back to Barcelona without 'guarantees.' 

Respected online news website OKDiario.com said: 'According to sources sounded out by this paper, Puigdemont has begun to consider the possibility of imitating the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and looking for save haven in a foreign embassy.'

The website highlighted the fact Catalan pro-independence supporters enjoyed the support of some politicians belonging to minority parties in Finland, Lithuania and Estonia, although it was quick to point out their respective governments had ruled out the possibility of becoming early allies of an independent Catalonia.

Most neutral observers believe Puigdemont would struggle to persuade a Belgian court not to extradite him to another European member state, even though he has hired a specialist human rights lawyer who has helped prevent alleged ETA terrorists being forced back to Spain after seeking safe haven in Belgium.

The country's PM Charles Michel has hinted the former Catalan leader does not have his support, insisting he should be 'close to his people' after declaring independence.

Spanish Justice Minister Rafael Catala said he was confident any attempt by Puigdemont to seek political asylum in Belgium, which the former Catalan leader ruled out in a press conference yesterday/on Tuesday, would be over in 'half an hour.'

At a chaotic press conference in Brussels Puigdemont said he had no plans to return unless he was given certain guarantees about his safety from the Spanish Government

PSOE veteran Alfonso Guerra, ex-vice president of the Spanish government, accused the ousted Catalan president of having a 'Dalai Lama' complex and added: 'I don't think he'll ask for political asylum. He's in Europe. He's ignorant. He's probably just having a few drinks in a bar in Brussels.'

Several members of Puigdemont's deposed government travelled with him to Brussels on Sunday - but most have since returned, being met with insults and the sight of protestors waving Spanish flags when they landed at Barcelona's El Prat Airport late last night.

They have also been ordered to attend the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's Central Criminal Court, for questioning tomorrow at 9am along with Puigdemont.

Albert Rivera, the leader of pro-union party Ciudadanos, branded Puigdemont and his allies as hypocrites when it first emerged they had travelled to Brussels by tweeting: 'They ask citizens and civil servants to break the law, but they vote in secret, change the name of their assets or flee to another country.'

Reports earlier this week had claimed Puigdemont could also end up moving on a third country to frustrate attempts to force him back to Spain if any hopes he harbours of staying in Belgium were blocked.

The ousted Catalan leader was due to address the press again at midday today in Tielt near Ghent where his Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert has his office. 

Earlier, two young Catalans were arrested by Spanish police after they took to Facebook to criticise the security services' brutality, local media reported.

Mother-of-two Meritxell Esquerra de Benito (pictured) was held overnight despite protesting that she had two young children at home, she explained 

Kenneth Batiste Drudis (pictured) was publicly handcuffed and taken to a police station for questioning before being released. He was informed that he was being held on suspicion of 'incitement to hatred' after he criticised the national police online

Mother-of-two Meritxell Esquerra de Benito and Kenneth Batiste Drudis were publicly handcuffed and taken to a police station for questioning before being released the next day.

The pair, both from Lleida in western Catalonia, were informed that they were being held on suspicion of 'incitement to hatred' after they criticised the national police online.  

The Catalan leader was sacked by the Spanish government on Friday after his region's parliament voted to declare independence, before heading to Belgium. But the Belgian leader has said Mr Puigdemont will be 'treated like any other citizen'.

Ms Esquerra, meanwhile, said that the tightness of the handcuffs used in her incitement to hatred arrest injured her wrists. 'They pressed tightly and although I complained about it, they did not loosen them,' she said.

She also alleged that officers ignored the fact that she was celiac. 'One night of stomach ache does not matter,' one officer is reported to have said.

The young mother was detained overnight without being given a blanket in the cold cell, 'not even one that my husband tried to give one of the officers before my arrest,' she said.

Ms Esquerra was arrested at home when local police advised her to stay indoors after her sister warned her by telephone that two national police officers were waiting for her at her workplace.

The local Catalan police, known as the Mossos, and the national police are two different entities. They clashed during the violence of October 1, as some local police tried to defend the referendum and protect citizens from brutality.

Ms Esquerra was held overnight despite protesting that she had two young children at home, she said. 'According to my lawyer, being a mother-of-two I am not a flight risk and I had the right to spend the night at home,' she said.  

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel, meanwhile, has made clear that Mr Puigdemont will not receive any special treatment on account of the high office that he held until he was sacked by Madrid on Friday.

He added that Mr Puigdemont came into Belgium under the standard Schengen freedom of movement laws and that 'the state will ensure respect for the rule of law.'  

Mr Puigdemont's sacked government ministers were greeted with Spanish flags and insults last night after flying back to Barcelona from Brussels.

Noisy protestors yelled 'Dogs', 'Prison' and 'Stay Away' and sang 'Viva Espana' as they arrived at the city's El Prat airport just before midnight amid chaotic scenes.

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and his wife Marcela Topor arrive at the Catalan parliament in Barcelona before the region's fateful decision to declare independence 

A delighted woman celebrates the news in Barcelona after the regional parliament declared independence 

The Catalan parliament declared the region independent on Friday. Pictured: Former president Carles Puigdemont voting

Catalan separatist flags are held up as fireworks go off in Sant Jaume Square in front of the Catalan regional government headquarters during celebrations on Friday night after the declaration of independence 

Puigdemont was thought to have been on the plane - but it became apparent after it landed that he had stayed in the Belgian capital.

The 54-year-old father-of-two, who left Spain unexpectedly on Sunday with five of his ex-ministers after the Spanish government imposed direct rule over Catalonia, will face demands for his arrest and extradition if he fails to attend court tomorrow.

He has been ordered to the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's Central Criminal Court in Madrid, for questioning along with more than a dozen members of his deposed government. 

But Mr Bekeart said his client would not be returning to Spain to appear before a judge to answer charges of sedition and rebellion.  

Back to normal? A demonstrator waves a Catalonian pro-independence 'estelada' flag outside Palau de la Generalitat, the Catalonian regional Government Palace, in the first working day after the implementation of the Spanish Constitution's article 155, in Barcelona on Monday

Puigdemont is now staying at a secret location in Brussels, having checked out of his 120-euro-a-night three-star hotel. 

At a chaotic press conference in Brussels Puigdemont said he had no plans to return unless he was given certain guarantees about his safety from the Spanish Government.

With no immunity from prosecution forthcoming from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, it is likely Puigdemont will continue to stay in Brussels where he says he has 'freedom and safety'. 

Puigdemont has insisted he is not in Belgium to seek asylum but his lawyer said they would challenge any extradition request from the Spanish Government.

Dismissed Catalonian regional President Carles Puigdemont arrives at the press club ahead of his press conference at the Press Club in Brussels

'We have decided not to file an asylum application, but to challenge any extradition before the court.' Bekaert said.

'Extradition can also be challenged without asking for asylum.'

Puigdemont and his 13 cabinet colleagues have been told to deposit 6.2 million euros in bail by the end of the week with a warning that their property and assets will be seized unless they find the money.      

A spokesman for the Belgian Crisis Centre confirmed that it is assessing whether any special protection is needed for Mr Puigdemont and his delegation doing his stay in Brussels – though, unusually, he highlighted that the final decision would not be made public.

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel (pictured) has made clear that Mr Puigdemont will not receive any special treatment on account of the high office that he held until he was sacked by Madrid on Friday

Belgian federal police have beefed up their presence around Mr Puigdemont in the meantime with a particular focus on controlling any demonstrations that may accompany his public appearances. 

It comes as Madrid continues to steamroll Catalan autonomy, with three key independence institutions in Catalonia dissolved by Spain's Council of Ministers yesterday.

The ousted Catalan sustainability minister, who defied the Spanish crackdown by tweeting a picture of himself at work on Monday, has been ordered to present himself at the national court in Madrid at 9am tomorrow.

Josep Rull was was given the demand by police who visited his home at 10:44 last night, he said on Twitter. It means that a showdown is imminent, with Mr Rull being forced to either 'peacefully resist' or capitulate to Madrid.       

The ousted Catalan sustainability minister Josep Rull (pictured), who defied the Spanish crackdown by tweeting a picture of himself at work on Monday, has been ordered to present himself at the national court in Madrid at 9am tomorrow

Rull was was given the demand by police who visited his home last night, he said on Twitter. It means that a showdown is imminent, with Mr Rull being forced to either 'peacefully resist' or capitulate to Madrid

The Secretariat for the Development of Self-Government, the Office for the Improvement of the Institutions of Self-Government and the Interdepartmental Commission on Self-Government, which were all created in March 2016 to develop Catalan independence, were also annulled by royal decree.

The director of the Institute of Self-Government Studies, Carles Viver Pi-Sunyer, was dismissed.

Speaking in Barcelona, Enric Millo, Madrid's delegate in Catalonia, said: 'It is the first time that such an event has happened due to exceptional circumstances. The government of Catalonia completely departed from the law and the function of the government o Spain was to guarantee the functioning of public services in Catalonia.'

He went on to thank Madrid officials for keeping the region running smoothly during such a time of unrest.