Keeping Catalan leaders in jail ‘not reasonable’ if trial delays, says Spanish VP

Spanish vice president Carmen Calvo has said that it would not be "reasonable" for pro-independence leaders to be kept behind bars if their trial gets delayed.

"The fact that they’re in jail—this doesn’t help. If the trial gets delayed, other measures could be taken. The judge could think about it, it would be reasonable," said Calvo in an interview with the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.

Accused of rebellion for organizing a referendum and declaring independence despite Spain’s opposition, some Catalan leaders have been imprisoned for almost a year while awaiting trial.

With the trial against the nine pro-independence leaders currently held behind bars due to start in the coming months, they're likely to stay in jail while a final ruling comes out.

The preemptive imprisonment of Catalan officials has been contested both in Spain and abroad. Amnesty International has called the incarceration of activists Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart "excessive and disproportionate".

Calvo is the highest-ranking official in the Spanish government to question the preemptive imprisonment of pro-independence leaders, thus following the path of ministers Meritxell Batet and Josep Borrell.