Puigdemont says Madrid jailings are 'a mistake'
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The ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has described the jailings of several of his former Cabinet members as "a serious mistake."
In a speech broadcast late on Thursday by Catalan public TV3, Puigdemont called on Catalans to protest against the Spanish authorities "without violence, peacefully and with respect for everybody's opinions."
Puigdemont and several ousted Cabinet members remain in Brussels, where he says they are seeking "safety and freedom" while judges back in Spain investigate them for pushing Catalan secession.
The prosecutor has asked the National Court judge to issue an international arrest warrant against them.
"The fury with which the Spanish government has attacked a beautiful European nation is outrageous and is threatening us all," Puigdemont said, adding that Catalonia's independence is "no longer an internal affair" of Spain.
