Spain's Supreme Court has confirmed the pretrial detention without bail of Catalan politicians Carme Forcadell, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa over what they perceive as a flight risk and risk of them reoffending if released. It was the last appeal pending from the Parliament's former speaker and the ministers, now also rejected by the court's appeals chamber. Now they will have to turn to the Europe courts.
The order highlights that "there is no precedent in recent European history of a government of a federated state rising up against the state's constitution".
The second chamber of the Supreme Court has rejected the appeals presented by the former speaker, Carme Forcadell, and the ministers Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa against the 23rd March ruling from investigating judge Pablo Llarena, who ordered the five be taken into pretrial detention. The three judges of the appeals chamber, who review the investigating judge's rulings, confirm the judgement that the five pose a flight risk and risk of reoffending, whereby they ratify the decision to hold them in custody.
In a ruling presented by judge Miguel Colmenero, the chamber examines the alleged flight risk and highlights that, among the personal circumstances of the applicants, they cannot ignore the structure supporting them, neither its financial strength, nor its international contacts, "factors which have allowed those who have already fled to maintain an appearance of normal life outside of Spain and the residence that, until their, was their normal home".