A judge in Madrid was on Friday issued an EU arrest warrant for Catalonia's deposed leader over his region's tumultuous independence drive, in a move likely to take tensions to a new level in Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

The warrant for Carles Puigdemont, who is holed up in Belgium, was issued after a Spanish judge threw a large chunk of Puigdemont's axed regional government behind bars over their role in Catalonia's secession push.

Students blocked roads and a railway line in Catalonia as demonstrators geared up for more protests after tens of thousands took to the streets on Thursday waving Catalan flags and chanting in anger over the detentions.

Puigdemont, 54, dismissed last week as Catalan president by Spain's government, failed to show up on Thursday to be grilled by the judge over alleged sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds, accusations he calls politically motivated.

Puigdemont said he stood ready to cooperate with Belgian justice authorities, adding he believed Spanish authorities had become politicised.

"I will not run from justice. I will go to the justice authorities, but the real justice authorities," Puigdemont told Belgian state broadcaster RTBF in an interview on Friday.

Source: Khaleej Times