Spain releases six Catalan officials

Spain's Supreme Court has decided to release six former Catalan government officials but keep four others in custody.

In a decision made late in the afternoon of December 4, Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena decided to release six former Catalan government officials after they were granted bail totaling 100,000 euros.

They have been detained since November 2 after appearing before the Spanish central government in Madrid and being charged with sedition, secession and misuse of public funds.

Although temporarily released, these 6 former officials had their passports confiscated to prevent them from leaving the country and were required to appear regularly before local judicial courts.

The Spanish Supreme Court has decided to release six former Catalan government officials. Illustration photo: Reuters

This is considered a notable development in the crisis over the past several months related to the secession plan of the Catalonia region in Spain.

However, four other former officials of the Catalan Government continue to be detained, notably Mr. Oriol Junqueras, who was the number 2 figure of the Catalan Government, after Mr. Carles Puigdemont and is currently the leader of the left-wing Catalan Republican Party - ERC, which advocates secession.

Explaining its decision, the Spanish Supreme Court said it would continue to detain these four individuals because they were at high risk of reoffending and were suspected of being involved in violent acts on October 1, the day the Catalonia region held an illegal independence referendum.

However, separatist parties in Catalonia condemned this decision of the Spanish Supreme Court and said that the reason Mr. Oriol Junqueras is still detained is because he is currently the most prominent separatist politician in Catalonia. He is likely to lead the left-wing Republican Party of Catalonia - ERC to victory in the early election in Catalonia on December 21./.

According to VOV