BARCELONA, Spain — A Spanish Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered five Catalan politicians to be detained without bail, a decision that reignited tensions in the region as the central government struggled to quell the secessionist movement in Catalonia.

The judge, Pablo Llarena, also issued international arrest warrants for six other Catalan politicians, including Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia, who had fled to other countries to avoid prosecution in Spain.

State prosecutors want to sentence Mr. Puigdemont and other Catalan politicians to decades in prison for violating Spain’s Constitution during their secession drive, which included an illegal referendum and a declaration of independence last October.

In his ruling, Judge Llarena argued that 25 Catalan leaders should stand trial and questioned whether they had abandoned their illegal push toward independence. He said that their secession plan appeared instead to be “awaiting reactivation.”

On Thursday, separatist lawmakers tried to elect a new regional leader to replace Mr. Puigdemont, but the candidate of the main separatist parties, Jordi Turull, failed to gain enough votes from lawmakers in the regional assembly.

By RAPHAEL MINDER