Spanish court refuses freedom request from jailed Catalan separatist
Spain's Supreme Court has turned down a request from a jailed Catalan separatist leader to attend the northeastern region's parliament, where politicians are due to vote on whether to make him president of Catalonia.
Judge Pablo Llarena wrote in a ruling today that there was a risk that Jordi Sanchez would repeat the offences which have landed him in jail.
Mr Sanchez, a prominent secessionist who was elected to parliament last December, has been held in a prison near Madrid since October.
He is being detained while Mr Llarena investigates whether he orchestrated protests that hindered officials trying to stop a court-banned Catalan independence referendum that month.
Catalonia's parliament wants to vote on Mr Sanchez as leader on Monday.
The Spanish government argues that anyone facing charges cannot be elected by the Catalan parliament.
