Spain's Supreme Court today summoned the fugitive former leader of the autonomous region of Catalonia and local separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to appear to testify as a defendant in a terrorism investigation into protests after the failed referendum on independence since 2017, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
A statement from the court said that Puigdemont, who is a member of the European Parliament, as well as a member of the Catalan regional parliament, Ruben Wagensberg, were called to testify voluntarily by video conference from their places of residence outside Spain.
The court scheduled their hearing between June 17 and 21 and added that the exact date would be agreed upon later.
The Supreme Court opened an investigation against Puigdemont and Wagensberg "for the crime of terrorism" in connection with a case involving a secret group called the "Democratic Tsunami" which organized protests against the jailing of several Catalan separatist leaders who participated in the illegal 2017 independence referendum.
During the demonstrations, thousands of protesters blocked access to Barcelona airport and clashed with police, and a number of flights were cancelled.
Puigdemont, 61, fled to Belgium after leading an attempt to break Catalonia from Spain in 2017, which quickly failed. Puigdemont is still wanted in Spain on charges of misusing public money.
A controversial amnesty bill drafted by Spain's left-wing minority coalition government to exonerate Puigdemont and hundreds of other supporters of Catalan independence is slowly making its way through the national parliament, AP reports.
Puigdemont has announced he will run again in Catalan regional elections on May 12 and may return to Spain if he stands a chance of being re-elected as regional leader. He continued his political career as a self-proclaimed political exile in Belgium, from where he won a seat in the European Parliament in 2019.
Regional politician Wagensberg moved to Switzerland after an investigation began against him earlier this year.