Oriol Junqueras was sentenced to 13 years in prison in October for his role in a 2017 Catalan independence referendum that was deemed illegal by Spanish courts. But he was elected an MEP while in prison awaiting the verdict and has been unable to take up his seat. And European Court of Justice judges have now ruled anyone elected to the European Parliament “enjoys immunities” to travel and take part in parliamentary sessions.
They said an MEP cannot be subject to detention or legal proceedings because of views expressed or votes cast.
But they stopped short of calling for Spain to release Mr Junqueras.
EU Parliament President David Sassoli told MEPs: “It is a very important ruling that directly affects the composition of this institution.” He appealed to the Spanish authorities “to comply.”
The ruling has cast serious doubt on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ability to form a coalition government with the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC) party which put negotiations with his Socialists (PSOE) on hold as soon as the verdict was delivered.
ERC spokeswoman Marta Vilalta said: “We will not sit down with the PSOE until we know the assessment of this ruling and what the state’s lawyers will do.
“Now is the time to handle this politically and to enact justice. We won’t rest until we get it.”
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The Spanish Supreme Court, which referred the case to the Luxembourg court in the first place, must now decide how to respond.
Mr Junqueras’ lawyer Andreu Van den Eynde said Spain’s Supreme Court should now overturn the politician’s conviction and grant his immediate release.
Mr Van den Eynde said: “I believe that, one way or another, the State Attorney must accept we are right.”
Mr Puigdemont said: “Today European justice did more to resolve the conflict than two years of repression by Spanish governments and the shameful silence of the European institutions.”
He described Spain’s continuing imprisonment of Mr Junqueras as a “kidnapping.”
In a separate case, a Barcelona court ruled the Catalonia’s pro-independence president of Quim Torra should be barred from holding public office for 18 months after he refused to remove symbols of support for jailed separatists from public buildings during April’s election campaign.