A DECISION by a Spanish court to free the brother-in-law of King Felipe of Spain from jail over Christmas while a prominent Catalan leader elected as an MEP will remain in prison has come under attack.

It emerged yesterday that Inaki Urdangarin has been granted permission by a court to leave jail for four days to join his wife and four children over the festive period.

The 51-year-old was jailed in June last year for fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. He had used his royal connections to secure contracts for sporting and other events, siphoning off €6 million (£5m) in public money. His wife, Princess Cristina, 54, was cleared of helping him but ordered to pay €136,950 damages.

However, Oriol Junqueras, former vice-president of Catalonia,

and leader of the Catalan Republic Left (ERC) party will remain in prison despite a European Court of Justice ruling last week which said he should have had parliamentary immunity during his trial this year as he had been elected an MEP in May.

Raul Murcia, a spokesman for ERC, told the Sunday Times: “You see the contradiction in Spanish justice? Urdangarin was convicted of fraud but comes out of prison for Christmas while Oriol stays behind bars despite the European court ruling he should have been immune from prosecution.

“It seems there is one law for a member of the royal family and another for someone who has does nothing wrong except organising a referendum.”

Last week the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that Junqueras had become an MEP the moment he was elected in May, despite being on trial for sedition. The European Union immunity rules protect an MEP from any investigation or prosecution based on their opinions or votes as an MEP. But an MEP found to have committed an offence cannot claim immunity.

Junqueras was convicted and jailed in October for 13 years for his role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

“Our rights and those of two million citizens who voted for us have been violated,” he tweeted, following the court’s ruling, adding: “Annulment of the sentence and freedom for all!”

READ MORE: EU court ruling on Catalan leaders is a 'win for democracy'

Two other senior Catalan pro-independence leaders were elected as MEPs in May and the ruling may affect them too. Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin fled to Belgium before Spain could detain them. However, they could not take up their seats in European Parliament as, like Junqueras, they had not sworn the Spanish oath.

Spanish law requires new MEPs to swear an oath on the constitution in Spain. Junqueras, who has been in custody since November 2017, was not allowed to do this while on trial and in provisional detention.

On Thursday, the ECJ ruled that Junqueras should have “enjoyed the immunities guaranteed” by EU law after the election results were confirmed. It added that if Spanish courts had wanted to maintain his detention to prevent him from travelling to the European Parliament for his inauguration, they should have requested that Parliament waive his immunity.

“The purpose of that immunity is to allow such persons to ... travel to and take part in the inaugural session of the newly-elected European Parliament,” the ruling stated.

Responding to Thursday’s ruling, Puigdemont tweeted: “Immediate freedom for @junqueras.”

Junqueras was jailed for sedition and misuse of public funds by the Supreme Court. Eight other Catalan leaders also received jail sentences. After Thursday’s ruling, his defence team immediately filed an appeal to Spain’s Supreme Court over the legitimacy of his trial and conviction. Street protests have erupted in Catalonia since the leaders were jailed, with hundreds of people injured.

Urdangarin’s sentence was cut from six years and three months to five years and ten months on appeal. In September a court gave him permission to leave prison for 16 hours a week.