Catalonia crisis: Puigdemont ‘could run if not in jail’ and police will obey Madrid's orders

Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, has repeated his government’s position, claiming that the fired Catalan leader, could run new elections in December. Dastis stressed that this would only happen if he was not in jail.

Dastis made his comments as a rally was held for Spanish unity in Catalonia’s largest city of Barcelona.

Leader Carles Puigdemont was removed from Office, after Spain stripped Catalonia of its autonomy after the region declared independence, with Spain’s central government now having taken full control of Catalan institutions.

Spain's chief prosecutor is preparing to file criminal charges against Puigdemont and other Catalan officials for breaching Spanish law, which may happen as soon as Monday, the first working day since the independence declaration and the Spanish counter-measures.

Puigdemont said he does not recognise the order from Madrid removing him from power.

"We are not taking autonomy away from Catalonia. We are just re-establishing it, in fact,” said Dastis.

"Reality is already sinking in, will continue sinking in and they will realise that they cannot do something without the authority of law and they will be usurping authority,” he added.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido has written to all police officers in Catalonia asking for their loyalty as a "new era" begins in the region.

He reminded members of the regional police, who are now under direct control from Madrid, of their duty to obey orders and to guarantee "the rights and liberties of all".

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, who is in Madrid, said that arresting Puigdemont is likely to spark protests - and is perhaps one of the reasons why the interior minister has written this letter.

Senior police officers said that they have already complied with an order to remove framed photographs of the sacked leader from police stations across the region.

Spain has been suffering from this constitutional crisis, since a referendum by Puigdemont’s separatist government was held earlier this month. It was organised in defiance of a ruling by the constitutional court, which declared it to be illegal.

The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part, 90% were in favour of independence.

Friday saw the regional parliament declare independence.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy then announced the dissolution of the regional parliament, the removal of Puigdemont as Catalan leader, and ordered that fresh elections should be held on 21 December.

Belgium's Migration Minister Theo Francken has said the separatist leader could be given asylum protection which Spain would find difficult to reverse.

"If you see the situation at the moment, the prison sentences and the repression from Madrid and the prison sentences that are bandied about... the question is obviously whether somebody like that has the chance of a fair trial," he said.