Five jailed Catalan politicians were allowed to attend the opening of Spain’s Congress of Deputies opening session in Madrid on May 21. MPs Josep Rull, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Turull, and Senator Raül Romeva swore to uphold the constitution of Spain. Junqueras qualified the oath by adding, “as a political prisoner and by legal obligation.” The court’s authorities were due to decide whether the men would be suspended from further participation, "according to reports. Credit: Canal Parlamento via Storyful </s> Spain's parliament has suspended four Catalan lawmakers elected while facing trial over their role in the failed 2017 push for independence.

In a move that could benefit acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the four men – who are being held in custody – will no longer be parliamentarians.

Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Jordi Sanchez now need to either vacate their seats in parliament, or resign.

Sanchez's Socialists came out on top in last month's general elections, but failed to secure a majority in the assembly.

The suspension could reduce the threshold of an absolute majority that he needs in Congress, or in the lower house, to be sworn in for a second term.

If the lawmakers cede their seats to replacements, Sanchez would once again need the help of Catalan separatist parties to be sworn in.

An investiture vote is expected in the first week of July. </s> Five Catalan lawmakers who are in jail for their role in 2017's independence referendum took their seats in the national parliament in Madrid on Tuesday.

The Spanish Supreme Court last week granted the new MPs permission to leave prison to complete the required paperwork, El País reported, on the condition that they be guarded by police at all times and returned to prison “as soon as possible.”

Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull of the Junts per Catalunya party (Together for Catalonia) and Oriol Junqueras, the leader of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), were elected to the lower house of parliament in April's national election, and Raül Romeva from the ERC won a seat in the upper house. All are in jail while they face trial for their involvement in the independence push. They face charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, among other offenses.

Both the opposition Popular Party and Ciudadanos have said they will try to get the separatists suspended from parliament. </s> MADRID: Five jailed Catalan separatist leaders elected to the Spanish parliament last month were temporarily released from prison on Tuesday and escorted by police to the assembly to be sworn in as lawmakers.

The Supreme Court allowed the five men, on trial for their role in Catalonia´s 2017 secession attempt, to leave jail to take up their seats, but they are likely to be quickly suspended because of their legal situation. They won office in an April 28 general election which was won by acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez´s Socialists but without a majority. Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull won seats in the Congress, the lower house of parliament, while Raul Romeva was elected to the Senate, the upper house.

They were greeted with applause from other members of their parties when they arrived.

Like other lawmakers they swore to respect the Spanish constitution -- the same constitution they are accused of having violated with their independence push. Romeva vowed to respect the constitution "as a political prisoner, until the proclamation of the Catalan Republic" as he took his seat in the Senate. </s> The Spanish parliament suspended on Friday the lawmaker rights of the four jailed Catalan members of parliament while they face trial over the region's failed 2017 independence bid.

The ruling socialist party PSOE, the conservative Popular Party and the centrists of Ciudadanos voted in favour of the decision, while left-wing Podemos voted against.

The announcement was made by lower House speaker Meritxell Batet on behalf of the parliament's governing body.

Catalonia's regional vice president Oriol Junqueras, who is among the jailed MPs, immediately denounced the move.

"We have been suspended in Spain but they can not do this in Europe," Junqueras wrote on Twitter with reference to ongoing EU elections.

"A political prisoner entering the European Parliament is the best way to denounce the repression of the Spanish State," Junqueras continued.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to the seats as it's up to the four lawmakers to decide if they want to leave them empty for now or if they would rather resign and pass the position to a fellow politician.

If the seats are left empty, the total number of lawmakers would drop which, in a deeply fragmented parliament, may work in favour of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who could then be reelected without the backing of the Catalans.

Oriol Junqueras and fellow separatists Josep Rull, Jordi Turull and Jordi Sànchez won seats during Spain's April 2019 general election. Raül Romeva, meanwhile, won a seat in Spain's senate.

They are currently being held in prison, awaiting trial on rebellion, sedition and embezzlement charges. It is linked to their role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, which Madrid later declared illegal.

In an unprecedented move on Monday, five Catalan leaders were allowed out of prison on Tuesday to be sworn in at the opening of the Spanish Parliament.

But the Spanish Supreme Court recommended to the parliament's governing body to suspend the jailed MPs during their detention. Under Parliamentary rules, any member placed in temporary detention is automatically suspended. </s> Spain's parliament on Friday suspended four Catalan politicians currently on trial at the Supreme Court for their alleged participation separatist referendum back in 2017 from taking their seats in the national parliament.

The speaker of the country's lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies, Socialist Party (PSOE) member Meritxell Batet, told reporters the decision had been made by the speaker's committee following consultations with Parliament and the Supreme Court.

Batet acknowledged that parliament was faced with an "unprecedented" situation and that the committee had acted to safeguard legislative power and guarantee the rights of parliamentarians.

"The speaker's committee of the Congress of Deputies has agreed to automatically suspend from their positions and therefore their rights and duties established in the rules of the chamber the right honorable members Mr. Oriol Junqueras i Vies, Mr. Josep Rull i Andreu, Mr. Jordi Sánchez i Picanyol and Mr. Jordi Turull i Negre," Batet said.

Junqueras, the former regional vice president of Catalonia, who is facing hefty charges of rebellion and sedition, was in the general elections of Apr. 28 elected to represent the party he leads, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), while Rull, Sánchez and Turull, were voted into the Madrid-based national parliament as MPs for Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia, JxCat).

On Tuesday, all four were briefly released from preventative prison in Madrid to take their seats in Parliament in what turned out to be a controversial session peppered with protests from mainstream parties opposed to the decision to include the detainees.

JxCat, the party of self-exiled former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont, also welcomed a new senator, Raül Romeva.

As well as handling the suspension of the Catalan lawmakers, the committee had to analyze what effects removing four MPs from the 350-seat chamber would have on the absolute majority threshold.

Of the nine members of the speaker's committee charged with making a decision on the four Catalan separatist MPs, only two members of the left-wing Unidas Podemos (United We Can, in English) asked for more time.

"We made our disagreement clear, accepting the decision the committee took on a majority basis," Irene Montero, the party's parliamentary spokesperson, told the press.

The conservative Popular Party and Ciudadanos (Citizens, in English) welcomed the decision but lamented the fact the lawmakers had been allowed to take their oaths in the first place.

Ana Pastor, a former speaker who is now a member of the committee for the PP, said 48 hours had been wasted.

JxCat said it would petition for the decision to be re-evaluated.

The lawmakers in question are among the 12 Catalan separatists leaders currently on trial for charges ranging from rebellion and sedition to misuse of public funds related to their alleged activities promoting and facilitating an illegal independence referendum in Catalonia and unilaterally declaring independence back in October 2017.

The Catalan crisis, which had been simmering for years, exploded in 2017 with the events that led up to the Oct. 1 referendum on the prosperous region's secession from the rest of the country, which was deemed unconstitutional by the judiciary.

As a consequence of the disputed vote and the regional government's subsequent unilateral declaration of independence, Madrid triggered a constitutional article that stripped the devolved region from its autonomy, deposed then-Catalan President Puigdemont and called new regional elections.EFE-EPA </s> Five Catalan political leaders who are on trial for rebellion are scheduled to attend the Spanish parliament on Tuesday for the inauguration of the new legislature, amid uncertainty over whether they will be allowed to take part in parliamentary activity.

Oriol Junqueras, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull and Jordi Sànchez won seats in Congress in last month’s general election, despite being in jail and on trial in the supreme court. Fellow pro-independence politician Raül Romeva, who is also behind bars and on trial, was elected to the Senate. All five are due to be escorted from the prison where they are being held in Madrid to attend parliament’s opening session.

On Monday, the trial was suspended as the five men picked up their parliamentary credentials from the upper and lower houses. Their trial is due to resume on Wednesday.

“Today we have been able to leave Soto del Real prison thanks to your votes so that we can collect our credentials,” Mr Junqueras, former vice-president of Catalonia and currently leader of the Catalan Republic Left (ERC), said in a brief video posted on Twitter. “Your votes have freed us.”

Mr Romeva also represents ERC, while Messrs Rull, Turull and Sànchez won seats for Together for Catalonia (JxCat). None of them was allowed to address the media or meet privately with colleagues during their visit, which was closely controlled by police.

JxCat spokeswoman Laura Borràs described the restrictions on the jailed parliamentarians as “scandalous”.

All five are facing charges of violent rebellion and sedition for their alleged roles in Catalonia’s failed bid for independence in 2017, and could face lengthy jail sentences if found guilty. The trial began in February and is expected to end next month, although a verdict is unlikely before the summer.

Macarena Olona, a newly elected member of Congress for the far-right Vox party, which is one of the plaintiffs in the supreme court trial, decried the fact that the jailed Catalan leaders had been allowed to appear in parliament. She described their visit as “a failure of the rule of law that means five criminals have managed to get into public institutions in order to destroy Spain”.

ERC made gains in last month’s election, securing 15 seats in Congress and it could potentially be key in allowing the Socialists of prime minister Pedro Sánchez to form a new government after they emerged as winners but fell short of a majority.

However, although the jailed politicians are allowed to attend today’s session, the ability of the four members of Congress to take part in parliamentary business appears to be in the hands of the lower house’s presiding council.

Both the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Ciudadanos party have called for the presiding council to prevent the four from being able to take up their seats. If that were to happen and the suspended politicians did not delegate their seats, the change in parliamentary arithmetic could make the securing of a majority marginally easier. </s> Five elected Catalan leaders were allowed out of prison for a few hours today, in order to be sworn in at the opening of the Spanish Parliament.

Former Catalan regional vice president, Oriol Junqueras, as well as separatists Josep Rull, Jordi Turull and Jordi Sànchez won seats during Spain's April 2019 election. Raül Romeva also won a seat in the Senate.

They are currently being held in prison, awaiting trial on rebellion, sedition and embezzlement charges, after the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, which was later declared illegal.

On Monday, the five politicians were escorted to Parliament to collect their official credentials.

Their trial was put on hold, but is expected to resume on Wednesday.

However, despite their election success, there is doubt over whether the politicians will be able to take part in debates.

Under Parliamentary rules, any member placed in temporary detention is automatically suspended.

If the five Catalan separatist leaders are suspended, the majority in Parliament would go from 176 seats to 174, making Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's attempts to form a coalition much easier.

He would be able to reach a sufficient majority without the support of the Catalan parties and the separatist Basque party Bildu. </s> In an unprecedented move, five Catalan leaders were allowed out of prison on Tuesday to be sworn in at the opening of the Spanish Parliament.

It is believed to be the first time that elected, imprisoned individuals have been allowed into the assembly.

Oriol Junqueras, Catalonia's regional vice president, and fellow separatists Josep Rull, Jordi Turull and Jordi Sànchez won seats during Spain's April 2019 general election. Raül Romeva, meanwhile, won a seat in Spain's senate.

They are currently being held in prison, awaiting trial on rebellion, sedition and embezzlement charges. It is linked to their role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, which Madrid later declared illegal.

On Monday, they were escorted to parliament to collect credentials. Their trial has been put on hold but is expected to resume on Wednesday.

However, despite their election success, there is doubt over whether the politicians will be able to take part in debates.

Under Parliamentary rules, any member placed in temporary detention is automatically suspended.

Junqueras took to Twitter to thank his supporters and voters as he took his seat: ''A million thank yous'', he wrote.

''We are sitting in parliament because the polls decided so. Catalonia and the Catalan people led us to parliament, despite some not wanting us to be there'', the Catalan separatist MP Josep Rull tweeted.

''The ballot box decides. Be wary of the free will of the Catalan people'', Jordi Sànchez added.

There decision to sit with the rest of parliament was denounced by Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the Catalan separatist movement which declared Catalonia's independence from Spain after the 2017 vote. He has fled the country and now lives in Belgium.

The five were nonetheless welcomed to parliament, with some MPs clapping as they entered. Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the left-wing Podemos party, hugged them as they joined the Cortes house.

The Catalan separatists might be crucial for the Spanish government to form a coalition. The Socialists, led by Pedro Sánchez, won the April elections with 123 seats in the lower house, but they did not achieve a majority.

To form a coalition, the Socialist party is eyeing an alliance with Podemos' 42 seats and would need yet 11 more seats to have a majority. They could find them with Basque nationalists or the Catalan separatists.

Not everyone is happy that the jailed Catalans are sitting, though: MPs from the right-wing Conservative Popular Party (PP) and the centre-right Ciudadanos party have claimed they will try to get them suspended from parliament, which would ban them from attending parliament sessions.

If the five Catalan separatist leaders are suspended, the majority in Parliament would go from 176 seats to 174, making Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's attempts to form a coalition much easier.

He would be able to reach a sufficient majority without the support of the Catalan parties and the separatist Basque party Bildu.

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The Board of the Congress of Deputies suspends Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Oriol Junqueras and Jordi Sànchez Catalan leaders elected lawmakers due to they judicial situation.