COPENHAGEN: Cata­lo­nia’s ousted leader Carles Puigdemont asked on Tuesday to return to Spain “without any risk” of being detained for his role in the independence drive despite Madrid warning he would not be let in “even in the boot of a car.”

Speaking from Copen­hagen on his first trip from Belgium where he now lives in self-exile, he said: “My intention in the coming days is to contribute to restoring democracy in order to respect election results.”

Fresh from a victory in December elections that saw separatist parties win an absolute majority led by his Together for Catalonia grouping, Puigdemont has been formally designated by the Catalan parliamentary speaker — another separatist — as the candidate to lead the region again.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2018