Jailed activist proposed as presidential candidate

Jordi Sànchez, a Catalan activist jailed since mid-October, has been proposed as presidential candidate by the parliament speaker Roger Torrent. Sànchez’s first bid for office was blocked by the Spanish judiciary a month ago.

Pro-independence parties resume their endeavor to appoint Sànchez as head of government following the United Nations call on Spain to respect his political rights, after their first attempt failed when the Supreme Court did not allow him to attend the parliament in order to be sworn in.

"In fulfillment of my political rights, I accept this responsibility," said Sànchez via Twitter on Sunday. "Without violence, without giving up on anything, it's time to be able to talk about everything."

En plenitud dels meus drets polítics, accepto la responsabilitat, @rogertorrent. Sense violència, sense cap renúncia, és hora de poder parlar de tot #llibertat pic.twitter.com/pIThZ3yLzC

— Jordi Sànchez (@jordialapreso) April 8, 2018

Sànchez entered prison almost six months ago. He faces criminal charges of rebellion, carrying prison sentences of up to 30 years, for his role in Catalonia's push for independence as a civil society leader.

Sànchez, the former president of the grassroots Catalan National Assembly (ANC) organization, was elected as an MP in an election last December. He is a member of Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), the party of the deposed president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdeont.

Torrent completed a round of talks with all parties on Friday. Sànchez was the candidate with the most supports, as the two largest pro-independence groups in the chamber, JxCat and Esquerra Republicana (ERC), backed his candidacy.