FILE - In this Tuesday, March 9, 2021, record photo, subordinate of European Parliament Carles Puigdemont prepares for an interrogation astatine the European Parliament successful Brussels. The lawyer for Puigdemont says the erstwhile Catalan person has been detained successful Sardinia, Italy. Gonzalo Boye confirmed to the Associated Press that Puigdemont was detained connected Thursday, Sept. 23. Boye wrote connected Twitter that the erstwhile Catalan president, wanted by Spain for his relation successful an unauthorized referendum for independence, was being held nether a European apprehension warrant issued by Spain successful 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 9, 2021, record photo, subordinate of European Parliament Carles Puigdemont prepares for an interrogation astatine the European Parliament successful Brussels. The lawyer for Puigdemont says the erstwhile Catalan person has been detained successful Sardinia, Italy. Gonzalo Boye confirmed to the Associated Press that Puigdemont was detained connected Thursday, Sept. 23. Boye wrote connected Twitter that the erstwhile Catalan president, wanted by Spain for his relation successful an unauthorized referendum for independence, was being held nether a European apprehension warrant issued by Spain successful 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

ROME – A erstwhile Catalan person sought by Spain for a failed 2017 secession bid is expected to look astatine an extradition proceeding Friday aft being detained successful Sardinia, an Italian land with beardown Catalan taste roots and its ain independency movement.

Italian constabulary connected Thursday nighttime transferred Carles Puigdemont to a jailhouse successful Sassari, a Sardinian metropolis adjacent Alghero, wherever helium had been detained upon accomplishment astatine the airdrome there. Alghero is hosting a accepted Catalan folklore festival that helium was expected to attend.

His Spanish lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, said Thursday nighttime that his lawsuit was being detained successful Italy nether a 2019 European apprehension warrant, adjacent though it has been suspended.

Earlier successful the week, Sardinian media reported that Puigdemont had been invited to a closed-door gathering elsewhere connected the land of sympathizers of a Sardinian independency movement. Sardinian separatist supporters holding flags and banners gathered extracurricular the courthouse Friday to amusement solidarity arsenic they waited for Puigdemont's accomplishment astatine the tribunal.

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Puigdemont’s Italian lawyer told reporters extracurricular the courthouse that the commencement clip of the proceeding would beryllium established aft helium and the justice person much clip to reappraisal paperwork, indicating it mightiness adjacent beryllium held implicit until Saturday.

Any determination by the justice successful Sassari successful favour of extradition would yet person to beryllium approved by the Italian justness curate successful Rome.

Puigdemont and a fig of his separatist colleagues fled to Belgium successful October 2017, fearing apprehension aft holding an independency referendum for Catalonia that the Spanish courts and authorities said was illegal.

Nine Catalan separatists aboriginal received situation sentences for their relation successful the 2017 referendum ranging from 9 to 13 years. They were pardoned successful July, but Puigdemont, who fled, was not.

He holds a spot successful the European Parliament, though that legislature stripped him of parliamentary immunity.

The Spanish authorities successful a connection said Puigdemont's detention successful Sardinia “obeys a ineligible process which is underway and which applies to immoderate national of the European Union who indispensable respond to his acts successful court.” Spain said it would respect decisions taken by Italian authorities and its courts.

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AP writer Renata Brito contributed from Barcelona.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.