Leading Catalan separatist walks free on bail

MADRID: A Spanish judge on Monday allowed leading Catalan separatist Marta Rovira, who faces charges over her region´s independence bid, to walk free but ordered her to post bail of 60,000 euros, a source close to the case said.

Judge Pablo Llarena placed Rovira under judicial control, but stopped short of putting her behind bars for the duration of an ongoing probe into charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

Rovira is the deputy leader of the leftwing separatist ERC party, whose chief Oriol Junqueras has been in custody since November. Junqueras was jailed after Madrid ousted his government and dissolved the Catalan parliament, following a failed declaration of independence on October 27.

Catalonia´s deposed president, Carles Puigdemont, travelled to Belgium where he has gone into self-imposed exile -- evading a similar fate to Junqueras and three other jailed secessionist leaders.