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The Speaker of Catalonia’s Parliament Carme Forcadell has been freed on bail after being held in Madrid for 24 hours. She was questioned by Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday for her participation in Catalonia’s independence and faces charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement.
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She was granted the possibility of bail after saying that her part in the Oct. 27 parliamentary independence vote, which she presided over and counted ballots for, was only “declarative and symbolic.” She has agreed not to run in the region’s elections on Dec. 21, a part of the Spanish central government’s judicial takeover of the region.
Vice-President of Catalonia and Republican Left of Catalonia Party Leader Oriol Junqueras was nominated to run in the regional election. He has been in jail since last week for his part in the region’s independence movement.
Forcadell paid a bail fine of almost US$175,000. She and other Catalan Parliament members had previously said the Oct. 1 referendum and parliamentary declaration were legally binding. Four other Parliament members have also been released on bail.
Eight former Catalan ministers, a pro-independence activist and a former parliament elected official who are being investigated for similar charges by the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's highest criminal court, have been denied bail. Carles Puigdemont, former president of Catalonia, has complained that the Audiencia Nacional is taking a vengeful stance.
Puigdemont and four other former ministers are in Belgium awaiting a court decision on how to proceed with possible extradition to Spain. Leader of the Citizens’ Rights of Barcelona Jaume Asens is currently in Brussels, capital of the European Union, asking for an independent investigation into the “flagrant disregard of human rights of European citizens” following the referendum. More than 900 people were reported injured in clashes with police during the vote.
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