FOUR jailed Catalan independence leaders have been suspended as members of the Spanish Congress as they stand trial for their role in the 2017 independence referendum.
Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Jordi Sànchez took their seats in the lower house on Tuesday, while Raul Romeva was sworn in to the Senate.
Since then there has been toing and froing between the board that runs Congress and the Supreme Court over who should decide on their suspension.
They were barred from sitting in the Catalan Parliament last July when the court ruled that an individual on trial for rebellion or terrorism and in “preventative prison” could be suspended temporarily until a verdict was reached.
READ MORE: Independence trial is ‘historic mistake’ says Catalan minister
When speaker Meritxell Batet sought advice from the court earlier this week, it would only reiterate that ruling, and said the final decision should be made by Congress.
Its board agreed earlier today, with only the left-wing Podemos voting against it because of reservations over the “rush” in which the decision was taken.
However, what happens to their seats was still unclear. It is up to the suspended MPs to decide if they want to leave them empty, or if they want to resign and pass the position on to a fellow politician.
If they are left empty, the total number of MPs would fall, which could benefit acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who could then be re-elected without the support of Catalan members.
Reaction to the decision was swift, with Catalan president Quim Torra describing it as an attack on the democratic will of Catalans and the rights of political prisoners.
He tweeted: “The behaviour of the state with the vote of Citizens [party MPs] is intolerable. The time of truth arrives and of moving united towards the independent Republic.”
European and local elections are being held in Spain tomorrow, and one of the candidates for Europe is the jailed former vice-president and suspended MP Junqueras.
He said: “They have suspended us in Spain, but they won’t be able to do it in Europe.
“A political prisoner entering the European Parliament is the best way to denounce Spain’s repression.”
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