Catalunya presidential candidate jailed ahead of swearing-in ceremony

CATALUNYA'S would-be president – due to be sworn in today (Saturday) is now in prison along with top-level regional politicians Raúl Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell and Josep Rull, whilst Marta Rovira, who was also sentenced, has fled to Switzerland where the CUP's Anna Gabriel is in exile to avoid jail.

A total of 25 politicians were called to appear in the Supreme Court yesterday (Friday), including Jordi Turull, whose swearing-in ceremony had failed after the CUP's abstaining in both voting rounds thwarted his being invested as president.

Turull was said to be crying as he entered the court building, even before it was known that he and his colleagues would be placed straight behind bars and denied bail.

Meanwhile, protests in the street in Barcelona over the latest summary imprisonments turned violent and the riot police had to be called in.

Head of Catalunya's regional Parliament Roger Torrent went ahead with the meeting as planned, but without the actual presidential candidate.

“Today, I can't even wish you all good morning,” Torrent said in his opening speech.

He called for a 'symbolic' voting session, although members of the right-wing PP – who are in power in the national government – left the room en masse as they considered the session a 'fraud' and 'illegal'.

The new prisoners' solicitor, Jordi Pina, says his clients have expressed their 'concern' about the uprising on Friday, but have called for the public to 'channel their indignation' over the politicians being held behind bars in a 'peaceful, democratic, civil and above all, non-violent manner'.

Spokesman for one of the main pro-independence parties, Sergi Sabrià of the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC) said: “Catalunya has said, enough is enough. We need to either choose democracy, or the State. Catalunya's future within the State of Spain is over.

“Yesterday, five vans took prisoners to Madrid whilst another went into exile. Yesterday, the State did not just jail five people; it jailed two million catalanes and spat in the face of democratic society.”

Members of the pro-secession parties, including Junts per Catalunya (JxCat, or 'Together for Catalunya'), the party which was in power via deposed president Carles Puigdemont and which Turull belongs to, have slammed the State's 'repression' of politicians who 'peacefully' defended the 'right to vote' and called its tough stance 'the death of democracy'.

The State, which revoked Catalunya's autonomous governing powers in October after the disputed referendum, called a regional election on December 21, which saw the majority of the votes go to the pro-independence parties collectively.

But with Puigdemont in exile in Belgium and unable to return to Spain without risking arrest, and the two other nominated JxCat candidates – Jordi Sànchez, and now Jordi Turull – in prison, the region continues without a government.

Torrent called for the State to 'recognise the results of the election' and allow the parties voted for to govern as requested by the people at the polling stations.

The photograph shows Roger Torrent comforting Turull's wife Blanca Bragulat.