The crisis is far from over. Ex-vice president Oriol Junqueras and almost all his colleagues were sent to prison without a bail option. The judge also ordered the detention of Puigdemont and his colleagues in Belgium. This implies a European arrest warrant.
Ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and other ex-ministers are in Belgium and did not appear before the courts in Madrid. Santi Vila, who resigned one day before the declaration of independence and the consequent suspension of the autonomy, escaped being sent to jail.
Carme Forcadell, the speak of the Catalan parliament and her colleagues at the head of the chamber are free to go until a hearing on November 9th, but they will remain under police vigilance.
Regional elections are due on December 21st. While the mainstream pro-independence parties said they will participate in the vote, throwing so many senior figures to prison risks a boycott and in any case, flares up the resentment.
Many pro-independence supporters criticized the latest moves of the Catalan government but the heavy-handed approach by the Spanish authorities can bring them back to support the cause.
