Spain's Supreme Court on Friday denied Catalan separatist Oriol Junqueras permission to leave jail to collect his credentials for the European Parliament, to which he was elected on May 26.

The court said its ruling did not mean he would permanently lose his European seat and that he must remain in jail awaiting the conclusion of the trial of 12 Catalan political leaders who led the region’s failed independence bid in 2017.

Junqueras, the former deputy head of the region, is charged with rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for his alleged role in the 2017 referendum that was deemed illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court. He denies the charges.

Two other Catalan politicians won European Parliament seats in May but have also been unable to formalize their places because they will be detained if they return to Spain to collect their MEP papers.

On Wednesday, a United Nations expert group urged the Spanish government to investigate the “arbitrary” decision to deny bail to three jailed Catalan separatist leaders including Junqueras and give them a chance to seek compensation.

The Spanish ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva later requested a correction of the UN report’s conclusions, which Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa blamed on mistakes, omissions and conflicts of interest.

(With input from Reuters)

(COVER: People hold banners depicting Catalan leaders' faces as they gather ahead of a rally of Catalan separatist organisations, in Madrid, Spain on March 16, 2019. /Reuters Photo)