Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a second request by a jailed leader of Catalonia's independence movement to be released so regional lawmakers can vote on making him their leader. He is being detained while the Supreme Court investigates whether he orchestrated protests that hindered officials who were trying to stop a court-banned Catalan independence referendum last October. Sanchez, who was elected to the Catalan parliament in December, hoped to attend a parliamentary session Friday where the slender majority of pro-independence lawmakers were to debate making him Catalan president. Following the Supreme Court ruling, Catalan parliament Speaker Roger Torrent announced the postponement of Friday's investiture session. Ponsati, a professor at St. Andrews University in Scotland, was arrested last month at Spain's request.

Source: ABC News April 12, 2018 13:14 UTC