Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has arrived for his first session as a member of the European Parliament despite facing an arrest warrant in Spain.
The former Catalan president is bent on using the parliament to continue his political fight for an independent Catalonia breaking away from Spain. His parliamentary position also gives him immunity.
Puigdemont used his arrival on Monday to demand the immediate release from a Spanish jail of another Catalan leader who was elected to the European Parliament, former Catalonia Vice President Oriol Junqueras, AP said.
Puigdemont was together with fellow EU legislator and former Catalan minister Toni Comin. The two are wanted in Spain for their role in a 2017 secession bid by the Catalan government and lawmakers.