Jailed Catalan leader takes European Parliament head to court

Jailed former vice president Oriol Junqueras appealed to the EU's General Court (EGC) on Monday after the European Parliament President David Sassoli declared himself "not competent" to defend Junqueras' political immunity as an elected MEP.

The appeal comes after Sassoli refused to comply with an urgent petition by the a member of the EU chamber that the president intervene to guarantee Junqueras' parliamentary immunity, arguing that he "was not in conditions" to do so.

Junqueras, who three weeks ago was sentenced by Spain's Supreme Court to 13 years in prison for sedition over his role in the 2017 independence bid, argues that he should have parliamentary immunity and be freed, after he won a seat in the EU chamber in May.

The head of the pro-independence ERC party, Junqueras has another case concerning his immunity pending in the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has to resolve an inquiry from Spain's Supreme Court on the extent of Junqueeras' immunity as an MEP.

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated that Junqueras asked for Sassoli to be declared "not competent"