Puigdemont’s lawyer Gonzalo Boye also spoke to RAC1 on Friday and said the former regional president had left Spain, but gave no further details on his whereabouts.
The Spanish Interior Ministry had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Puigdemont, the former Catalan president and figurehead of the regional independence movement, appeared in public in Barcelona on Thursday, gave a speech and then disappeared. He returned on the day the Catalan parliament voted on Socialist Salvador Illa as regional president.
In the hours that followed, the Catalan police launched a manhunt and sealed off Barcelona for several hours. However, Puigdemont could not be arrested. An arrest warrant had been out for him since he fled the country seven years ago.
The police are facing difficult questions. Two police officers were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of helping Puigdemont escape. The Catalan police, known as Mossos d’Esquadra, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The largest Spanish police union, Jupol, described the politician’s escape as a “scandal” and an “unacceptable dereliction of duty” on the part of the police. The right-wing Unified Police Union demanded that the National Police and the Guardia Civil take responsibility and that regional officers be excluded from the investigation.
The Catalan Interior Minister and Police Chief will hold a press conference later Friday morning.
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