Catalan speaker detained over independence bid: court
The speaker of the Catalan parliament will be detained until she pays a bail of 150,000 euros over her role in the region's independence bid, Spain's Supreme Court said Thursday.
A judge ordered Carme Forcadell to be held following the Catalan parliament’s declaration of independence from Spain last month.
A court spokesman said Forcadell must immediately pay the bond or be detained.
Catalonia’s regional parliament declared independence from Spain on October 27 following a banned referendum in which voters overwhelmingly supported breaking away from Spain.
The decision prompted Spain’s central government to invoke its power to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy, dismiss its parliament and government, and order fresh regional elections for next month.
Forcadell appeared with five other deposed Catalan deputies in Madrid on Thursday in front of the Supreme Court on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds — charges that carry a maximum jail sentence of 30 years.
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