Five Catalan separatist leaders who won election to the Spanish parliament will be allowed to leave jail for a few hours today while they are sworn in.
The five, who are on trial for their role in an October 2017 Catalonian secession attempt, were elected in an 28 April general election which saw acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists win the most seats.
Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull all won seats in the Congress, the lower house of parliament, while Raul Romeva was elected to the Senate, the upper house.
Spain's Supreme Court, which has been trying the five men since February, allowed them to leave jail to obtain their formal certificates as elected lawmakers.
In jail for over a year, they will be allowed to attend the opening session of parliament.
"They want to silence and marginalise us, and the ballot box has given our voice back," Mr Junqueras, a former Catalan vice president and the head of leftist Catalan separatist party ERC, told AFP in a written interview from jail.
Mr Junqueras is also standing in European Parliament elections on Sunday.
Since 2017 Catalan separatist parties have filed as candidates in elections leaders who are in jail or self-imposed exile over their role in Catalonia's failed separatist push, such as former regional president Carlos Puigdemont.
The goal is to draw attention to their plight or create pressure for their release.
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The five will be escorted by police to parliament where they will swear to respect the Spanish constitution - the same constitution which they are accused of having violated with their independence push.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) and centre-right Ciudadanos have said they will try to stop the five men from occupying their seats in parliament.
"Spanish democracy must also defend itself outside of the courts against those who want to end it," said PP leader Pablo Casado.
Both the lower and upper house of parliament will have to decide whether to suspend the five jailed Catalan leaders.
In its ruling released last week, the Supreme Court rejected a request from the five that they be permanently released from jail on the grounds that their right to freedom of expression was begin violated.
The court also said the permission to leave jail today to attend the opening session of parliament was "exceptional", and did not clarify if they will be allowed to attend debates.
Pedro Sanchez's Socialists lack a majority in parliament. To be sworn in again as prime minister, he is likely to rely on some parties abstaining from voting.
If the jailed Catalan MPs are not allowed to take part in Mr Sanchez's investiture vote, the threshold to be approved will be lower and he could be sworn in without relying on Catalan separatist parties abstaining.
Mr Sanchez, who in June 2018 took over from Mariano Rajoy, a conservative, as prime minister, has bet on dialogue with Catalonia to try to ease tensions sparked by the region's separatist push.
