Puigdemont was seen jumping into a waiting car shortly after his appearance in Barcelona. The former separatist leader is still wanted, and in connection with his appearance, the police were said to have set up a iron ring around the city.
At least two police officers have been arrested, suspected of having helped Puigdemont escape, reports AFP.
The return comes after seven years of exile. Puigdemont was previously the regional leader in Catalonia, but challenged the central government in Madrid with the referendum on independence for Catalonia in 2017. Since then, he has been wanted by Spanish authorities.
They have turned the Catalan into something suspicious, he says to thousands of supporters at the regional parliament in Barcelona, reports Spanish media.
He claims that the successes of the Catalan independence movement have led to "intense repression" in Spain.
We do not want to live in a country where amnesty laws do not provide amnesty, he says – a hint that he hopes to avoid going to prison.
A moment after his speech, the parliament began voting for a new regional leader, Salvador Illa from the social democratic PSC–PSOE. But then Puigdemont was not there.
Late on Thursday, Salvador Illa was formally elected as the regional leader.
The regional police, known as Los Mossos, announced that they had launched a prepared plan called Operation Jaula. It aims to monitor all entrances and exits to Barcelona, so that Puigdemont cannot escape again.
But in the afternoon, Jaula was declared cancelled, and the active search was scaled down.
