Fugitive ex-Catalan leader plans return to Spain despite threat of arrest

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont speaks at a press conference (Gloria Calvi/AP)

Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia who fled Spain after organising an illegal independence referendum, has announced that he plans to return home on Thursday despite the likelihood of his arrest.

Mr Puigdemont, 61, who fled to Belgium after the breakaway bid in October 2017 quickly collapsed, said that he would attend an event organised by his political party, Together for Catalonia, near Barcelona’s regional parliament building hours before a new regional government takes office.