German police confirm arrest of Catalonia’s Puigdemont

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: Catalonia President Carles Puigdemont speaks to the medai after failing to vote in the referendum because of the Spanish police closing his polling station on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia’s referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic.

German police said on Sunday they had arrested former Catalan secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on a European arrest warrant issued by Spain.

In a statement, police said Puigdemont was detained near a section of the A7 highway which cuts through the state from the city of Flensburg near the Danish border. Police did not say exactly where Puigdemont was being held.

“Schleswig-Holstein police are at this point in time unable to provide more details,” it said, other than that Puigdemont was taken into custody at 11:19 a.m. (0919 GMT).