Catalonia MPs call for Spanish judge to be charged over jailed politician

Catalonia’s parliament has called for legal charges to be brought against a Spanish Supreme Court judge for refusing to release a jailed pro-independence politician who had hoped to be elected its regional leader, Reuters said. The complaint on Friday was the latest broadside in a tussle between Barcelona and the central government, which imposed direct rule of the northeastern region after its government declared independence from the rest of Spain last October. Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena thwarted an attempt this week by the Catalan parliament to nominate as its leader Jordi Sanchez, a long-time independence activist who is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of rebellion.