Ex-speaker of the Catalonia parliament Carme Forcadell , front right, arrives at the Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. Six Catalan lawmakers are testifying Thursday before a Spanish judge over claims that they ignored Constitutional Court orders and allowed an independence vote in Catalonia's regional parliament. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
November 10, 2017 - 5:39 AM
MADRID - The Latest on the Spain-Catalonia political crisis (all times local):
2:35 p.m.
A top Catalan lawmaker who spent the night in a Madrid region prison as part of a wide-ranging rebellion investigation stemming from the Spanish region's declaration of independence has been released after posting bail.
A Supreme Court judge ordered the release of Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell after the 150,000 euros ($175,000) bail was posted Friday.
Forcadell and five other Catalan lawmakers were quizzed by the judge Thursday over the regional parliament's Oct. 27 vote to declare independence from Spain.
The judge jailed Forcadell immediately, ordered four to pay 25,000-euro ($29,000) bail in one week to remain out of custody and released another who opposed the declaration of Catalonia as a separate republic.
Forcadell left the Alcala Meco jail close to Madrid in an official Catalan parliament car shortly after 2 p.m. (1300 GMT).
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12:35 p.m.
Spain's Supreme Court says a judge has ordered the release of Catalan parliament speaker after bail has been posted.
Carme Forcadell spent the night in jail as part of a rebellion investigation following the parliament's declaration of the region's independence.
The court said Friday that bail of 150,000 euros ($175,000) bail had been registered and that a judge has signed a ruling for Forcadell's release.
The judge jailed Forcadell and four other parliament members Thursday but set bail after they agreed to either renounce future political activity or do it within the constitutional framework. The judge also set bail for the other four.
The five, and one other who was released, had been quizzed in the rebellion investigation following the Catalan parliament's Oct. 27 secession declaration.
Forcadell claimed before the judge that the independence declaration was "symbolic," according to lawyers familiar with her testimony.
Eight members of the now-defunct Catalan government are in jail in the case while former regional president Carles Puigdemont and four other ex-cabinet members fled to Belgium where they are fighting extradition.
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11:20 a.m.
Spain's foreign minister says time will tell if Catalonia's jailed top lawmaker will stop acting outside the constitution once freed, as she has reportedly pledged.
A Supreme Court judge jailed Catalan regional parliament speaker Carme Forcadell on Thursday and set bail at 150,000 euros ($175,000) after she agreed to either renounce future political activity or do it within the constitutional framework. She is expected to be released Friday after bail is deposited.
Forcadell, a leading Catalan independence figure, and five other lawmakers were quizzed in a rebellion investigation following the Catalan parliament's Oct. 27 secession declaration.
Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told Cope radio it "remains to be seen" if she will keep her word, adding that if she doesn't, he expected the judge to review the release decision.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017