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TEHRAN, Jul 2 -Thousands of Catalan protesters gathered in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday (July 2) to demand that their elected leaders be allowed to take their seats after they were blocked from collecting their MEP credentials.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - In June, 76 MEPs from a range of parties, in a letter seen by Reuters, called on the European Parliament to protect the rights of the three Catalan leaders who were unable to collect their credentials. As a result they will not be able to take their seats or claim the immunity the office provides.
The legal rights of those three Catalan separatists elected to office on May 26 while on trial or wanted for arrest for their role in a failed 2017 secession bid have been a major headache for Spanish courts since elections in April and May.
Protesters like Francesc Planas said they were calling on the European Parliament for help.
"We expect Europe to react, to help us, to not forget about the Catalan people. This is an issue of democracy," he said.
A Spanish court ruled in June that Oriol Junqueras, who is in prison awaiting sentencing in a high-profile trial on Catalonia's 2017 independence bid, was not be allowed to leave to pick up his credentials.
Two other leaders, Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin, who have lived in self-imposed exile since warrants were issued for their arrest after the failed secession bid, were unable to obtain their credentials in Madrid without risking detention.
(Source: Reuters)
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