Jailed Catalan separatist mulls dropping leadership bid

Jordi Sanchez, a separatist civic leader in jail over his alleged role in Catalonia's secession bid, is mulling dropping his bid to lead the region in what could ease a months-long political blockage.

In an appeal today at the Supreme Court against the decision to keep him in jail pending a probe into alleged sedition and rebellion, Sanchez's lawyers said he was "considering giving up his (parliamentary) seat in the coming days."
In a statement, Sanchez's lawyers acknowledged this, saying he was considering giving up his seat "given the difficulty to work as a lawmaker and attend the parliamentary session as candidate for the regional presidency."