10 Mar 2018 | 11:09 PM UTC
Spain: Supreme Court rejects bid to release separatist leader March 9 /update 2
Spanish Supreme Court rejects bid to release Catalan presidential nominee Jordi Sanchez March 9; associated protests possible in Barcelona and Madrid in the coming days
Event
On Friday, March 9, Spain's Supreme Court rejected a bid to release Catalan presidential nominee Jordi Sanchez from jail so that he may be sworn in as the next president of the Catalonia region, claiming that Sanchez would likely again commit sedition. Because Sanchez was the only candidate in contention, the Catalan parliament has indefinitely postponed the planned vote initially scheduled on Monday, March 12, to elect a new regional president. Associated protests over the Supreme Court decision are possible in Madrid, Barcelona, and elsewhere in Catalonia in the coming days. Localized traffic disruptions and a heightened security presence are expected near potential protests.
Context
Sanchez has been detained since October 2017 on charges of sedition due to his involvement in the Catalan independence referendum and subsequent constitutional and political crises that transpired the same month. His nomination as the leading (and only) candidate for the Catalan regional presidency comes after Carles Puigdemont, the former president of the Catalonia region, announced on March 1 that he had withdrawn his bid to be reappointed to the presidency. Puigdemont, who is in self-exile in Brussels, released a statement on social media stating that he decided to end his candidacy to allow a new government to be formed.
Spain was thrown into a constitutional and political crisis after Catalonia held an independence referendum, deemed illegal by the Spanish government and marred with violence, on October 1, 2017. Despite a series of logistical and judicial obstacles enacted by the central government to prevent the vote, 42 percent of the Catalan population participated in the referendum, with 90 percent of whom voting in favor of independence. Madrid officially suspended the region's autonomy on October 27 - just moments after the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence - and implemented direct central rule. The central government also fired the Catalan government and dissolved the parliament.
Advice
Individuals in Catalonia are advised to keep abreast of developments to the situation and to avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution.
