A court on Tuesday summoned Catalonia's president for questioning over an allegedly illegal 2014 ballot on independence from Spain, dealing separatists a blow after they won control of their regional parliament.

Two days after Artur Mas claimed victory for his independence campaign in a regional election, the Catalonia high court called him for questioning on October 15 with a view to possible charges of civil disobedience for holding the earlier ballot on November 9, 2014 against a court order.