Catalan president in exile Carles Puigdemont was one of the guests of the minister-president of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, at a midsummer celebration held by this central German land. Ramelow has been quite open in his desire to show support for the Catalan politician with this invitation.
"I consider that it is unacceptable that the [Catalan] ministers are in prison. I believe that it is unacceptable for those who were involved in the independence process to be punished with criminal sentences", said the leader of the Thuringia state to Catalan public television's correspondent in Berlin.
The Thuringia summer festival, celebrated in Berlin, is a shop window which brings the culture, businesses and gastronomy of this central German region to the country's capital. Also present at the celebration was the German justice minister, Katarina Barley, who had given backing to the decision made by the court of Schleswing-Holstein when the Catalan president was released from prison, after his initial arrest in Germany.
Meeting|Encounter with @bodoramelow, president of the State (German land) free of @thueringende pic.twitter.com/tjPuQp3yke
— Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) 25 of June 2018
Translation: Meeting with @bodoramelow, president of the free German 'land' of Thuringia. — Carles Puigdemont
Ebenfalls zu Gast beim Sommerfest der Thüringer Landesvertretung in Berlin: Carles Puigdemont - Herzlich Willkommen! https://t.co/Lc1E4ULMB8
— Staatskanzlei Erfurt (@thueringende) 25 of June 2018
Ramelow announced some days ago that the Catalan president had accepted his invitation to this event. "Myself and, undoubtedly, many guests expect some interesting conversations", he said. The minister-president and the exiled Catalan leader appeared together in front of the cameras shortly after the event began.
Ich freue mich, dass @KRLS meine persönliche Einladung zum Thüringer Sommerfest am 25. Juni in Berlin angenommen hat. Ich, und sicher auch viele Gäste, freuen sich auf interessante Gespräche. — Bodo Ramelow (@bodoramelow) 20 of June 2018