Torra will remain in office until such time as the Superior Court of Catalonia – which initially tried and convicted him prior to the case being taken to the Supreme Court – officially carries out the sentence.
Torra may yet pursue an additional appeal of the conviction and a stay of execution on the sentence so as to retain his position, but there has been no official comment in this regard as yet.
The decision will likely trigger a snap election, which could not come at a worse time, given that Spain is battling a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic – a point Torra himself made last week while testifying before the court.
“I’m not the one who will bring this country, at such a critical time, through an irresponsible electoral period that will paralyse the Catalan administration,” he said.
