Catalonia's former rebel president can return to Spain, court rules

Puigdemont was elected as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2019 and to the Catalan parliament in 2024 as leader of the region's centre-right Together for Catalonia (JxCat) party.He had campaigned in the south of France, where he held rallies attended by supporters who travelled across the border to see him.Puigdemont is known to have made at least one brief return to Spain since leaving the country, addressing a crowd of supporters in Barcelona prior to disappearing and escaping back over the border to France before he could be detained.While he was living in Waterloo, Belgium, nine of his former colleagues were jailed for their role in the events of 2017. They were released when the Spanish government pardoned them in 2021.Puigdemont has remained an active political presence, travelling across Europe to espouse the Catalan independence cause and fiercely criticising Spain's democratic institutions.In a video posted on social media just as the Supreme Court ruling was announced, Puigdemont spoke of his reasons for staying abroad."My role was to stir public opinion, internationalise the conflict and work from the heart of Europe to explain the reality of Spain," he said....