Spanish court orders Catalonian independence session suspended
Spain’s constitutional court yesterday ordered the suspension of a session in Catalonia’s parliament that leaders called for the region to declare independence.
Judges “ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for Monday in the [Catalan] parliament” while it hears an appeal by rival Catalan politicians, a spokeswoman said.
The court confirmed the decision in a written ruling.
Members of the Catalan parliament had summoned regional president Carles Puigdemont to address the assembly about last Sunday’s contested independence referendum in Catalonia.
The court warned that any session carried out in defiance of its ban would be null. It said the parliament’s leaders could face criminal action if they ignored the court order.
Mr Puigdemont and other leaders have said they were not afraid of going to jail if Spanish authorities arrest them for their independence attempt. They have defied the court’s rulings in the past.
Mr Puigdemont carried out the referendum in defiance of a ban by the Spanish court and stern warnings from the national government in Madrid.
Yesterday’s ruling raised the question of how the Spanish state would respond if Catalans decide to go ahead with Monday’s session.
The vote last weekend led to scenes of police assaulting voters and plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in decades.
The vote was not carried out according to regular electoral standards, but Mr Puigdemont said it had given legitimacy to the independence effort.
He said this week that the region’s leaders could declare independence within days.
Madrid rejected his call for mediation in the crisis. The national government could suspend Catalonia’s autonomous status if it declares independence.
Efforts in Catalonia to secure independence from Spain have led to the worst political crisis there in decades