BANNING the Catalan president from office for 18 months is a “politically-motivated prosecution”, according to one of Scotland’s leading lawyers.

Aamer Anwar hit out at Spain’s supreme court following the removal of Quim Torra on charges of disobedience, after he refused to take down ribbons and other symbols supporting jailed pro-independence leaders from his government palace ahead of the 2019 election.

The president had argued against the charges on the grounds of freedom of expression. The case went to the supreme court after a court in Barcelona ruled in December that he should be banned from office for 18 months. Torra’s defence has now been dismissed by the supreme court, removing him from office.

“[Torra] repeatedly and stubbornly disobeyed the orders of the Central Electoral Board to remove certain symbols from public buildings belonging to the [regional government] during the electoral process,” the Supreme Court judges said in their ruling yesterday.

The verdict can be appealed but takes effect once fully notified. Deputy Catalan leader Pere Aragones, who represents a different pro-independence party, is expected to become acting Catalan leader.

After the decision, Anwar tweeted: "Once more Spain follows in the footsteps of Franco, Supreme Court removes Catalan president Quim Torra for hanging a political banner from his office-Per la llibertat d’expressió Al teu costat, president @QuimTorraiPla #LlibertatPresosPoliticsiexiliats"

Anwar told The National the move shows Spain “acts as a rogue state”.

“The conviction of Quim Torra is another example of a politically motivated prosecution – Catalan politicians are used to being subjected to the undemocratic actions’ of Franco’s Spain,” he said.

“When elected Spanish politicians have used unelected judges to sentence Catalonia’s elected politicians to 100 years between them, then the disqualification of president Torra sadly came as no surprise – after all his treatment is a repeat of history that has seen 11 out of 12 previous Catalan presidents in the last 100 years either jailed, exiled, suspended or executed.

“It is clear that Spain is not interested in the rule of law or political dialogue but acts as a rogue state.”

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Anwar represents Clara Ponsati – the former Catalan education minister and St Andrews economics professor – who is fighting deportation over her part in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

He went on: “I am angered on a personal basis to see the treatment of Quim Torra whom I regard as a friend, he is a dignified and honourable man who had tried his very best whilst his political counterpart, the so-called Socialist prime minister [Pedro] Sanchez had danced to the tune of dead Fascist Franco.

“Declaring support for freedom of expression and for freedom of political prisoners would never be declared a crime in a free society.”

Elections will be held if the parliament cannot decide on a replacement for Torra. Catalan police have reportedly been put on high alert for possible protests ahead of the court ruling.

“Supreme shame,” Jordi Turull, one of the nine jailed leaders, tweeted.

“Once more, the Spanish state interferes in our democratic institutions,” Torra’s predecessor, Carles Puigdemont, wrote.

Barcelona FC also reacted to the news, saying it “violates the democratic will of the people”. A statement said: “FC Barcelona would like to show its support for the right honourable president of the generalitat of Catalonia, Joaquim Torra Pla, who today has been barred from office by the Supreme Court.

“FC Barcelona considers the barring from office of the Tora uncalled for and seriously violates the democratic will of the people expressed freely at the polls.

“The defence of the right to freedom of expression and the right to decide form part of the principles and civic commitment of our club.

“FC Barcelona has always maintained that the long-standing political conflict in Catalonia must be resolved through political dialogue and never through the courts.”