Judge presiding over Cataluña’s 1-O referendum court case dies

SPANISH Judge, Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer, who was taking the lead on the investigation of Cataluña’s illegal 1-O referendum case at Investigative court number 13 of Barcelona has died this Sunday morning.
Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer passed away at the age of 71, according to the Superior Court of Justice of Cataluña (TSJC).
The magistrate was believed to be suffering from a  long term illness that had reportedly worsened in recent weeks.
In December of last year,  Judge Ramírez Sunyer was hospitalised with a serious illness,  rejoining the 1-O case just weeks later in order to deny the appeals of the accused conspirators of the 1-O referendum.
His death occurs as preparations for the 1-O court case are in full swing with about 40 charged for the preparation of the illegal referendum on October 1, 2017.
Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer had just been granted exclusivity, as of last Wednesday, to devote himself fully to investigate only the 1-O case.