Catalonia’s deposed president, Carles Puigdemont, has said he has no plans to seek political asylum in Belgium, telling a packed press conference in Brussels he would return home immediately if a fair judicial process were guaranteed in Spain.

Puigdemont said he had come to the Belgian capital to seek safety and freedom, and accused Spanish police of failing to protect his rights and those of other separatist leaders. On Monday, Spain’s attorney general called for charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds to be brought against him and 13 other separatist leaders. That request showed “a desire, not for justice, but for vengeance”, said Puigdemont, who had made his way to Belgium before the charges were announced.

His appearance, flanked by five of his ousted regional chiefs, marked a further twist in a month-long crisis triggered by an independence referendum in Catalonia on 1 October.(theguardian)…[+]