First it was the Congress, now it's the turn of Spain's Senate. Today, the presiding board of the upper chamber in Madrid, headed by Manuel Cruz, has suspended Raül Romeva from the seat he won in last month's general election. They did so following a report from the Senate's lawyers in their favour and less than a week after the Congress's Board, headed by Meritxell Batet, suspended Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull.
After a meeting lasting little over an hour this Wednesday, the Board agreed almost unanimously to suspend Romeva. Voting in favour were the four members from PSOE and the two from PP; the only opposition came from third secretary Imanol Landa (EAJ). As such, the former Catalan foreign minister is suspended from his rights and duties as a senator unless and until there is a change in his status of imprisonment without bail while on trial.
In their report, the upper chamber's lawyers conclude that "the Board of the Senate is competent to enact the suspension of Romeva from exercising the role of senator" based on article 384 of Spain's law on criminal prosecution. For the lawyers, its application is "unquestionable".