Catalan president denounces 'coercion' faced by parliament speaker to suspend him as MP

Catalan president Quim Torra has complained of the "coercion" faced by parliament speaker Roger Torrent to suspend him as an MP and has threatened to take "legal action."

The parliament speaker has been informed by the Supreme Court that he must suspend Torra as an MP, while members of opposition People's Party and Ciutadans say that Torra should no longer be MP nor president.   

Head of Ciutadans Lorena Roldán stated that she would report Torrent for disobedience if he failed to strip the president of his seat.

This comes a day after Spain's Supreme Court confirmed his suspension as MP in the Catalan parliament as ruled by the electoral board, in disagreement with the public prosecutor's opinion.

The Supreme Court must still decide whether the electoral board has the authority to make such decisions, as requested by Torra, as well as rule on the top Catalan court's appealable conviction barring him from public office for 18 months for disobedience over the yellow ribbon row.

Quim Torra claims that "only the Catalan parliament" can suspend him and has criticized the "institutional conflict" he says that some people are trying to instigate, which according to him is putting the chamber's sovereignty at risk.