Oriol Junqueras, the former deputy leader of Catalonia, occupied the frontbench. Some stand accused of a violent uprising – one they say never happened. Some of the defendants face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty, but the sentences should be “much heavier,” Mr. Pulido said. imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years. He faces charges of rebellion and embezzlement and is accused of pushing forward with the referendum in spite of understanding the “grave risk” of violence related to it. The trial of Catalonia independence leaders, legally named Causa Especial 20907/2017 and popularly known as the Causa del procés, was an oral trial that began on 12 February 2019 in the Supreme Court of Spain. The trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders in Madrid is of “paramount importance to Spain’s reputation as a modern democracy”, the Spanish ambassador to London, Carlos Bastarreche, has said in … Spain’s Public Prosecutor called the 2017 Catalan independence push “a coup d’état” during the closing arguments on Tuesday – at the Supreme Court trial of 12 Catalan political leaders. The case was tried by seven judges and was chaired by judge Manuel Marchena. The secessionist conflict has split Catalan society, but it has also helped reshape Spain’s politics. Borras, who was the counsellor of government and institutional relations under Puigdemont, has been charged with disobedience and embezzlement. With Spain’s government hanging in the balance, the Supreme Court is under intense pressure to demonstrate that it can remain impartial and above politics in a case that has ignited passions and recriminations. Many of its former members went on to join PDeCAT. Dolors Bassa is an educator and trade unionist who began her political career in 2007. MADRID — The simmering conflict over Catalan independence roared back to the center of Spanish attention on Tuesday, as 12 people went on trial for their roles in … Twelve Catalan separatist leaders have gone on trial in Madrid over a failed independence bid that laid bare historical divisions and triggered Spain ‘s biggest political crisis in decades. Oriol Junqueras is one of a dozen former political leaders facing trial over his region's independence bid in October 2017. The remaining three had been free on bail. She has been active in local politics since 1995 and is the daughter of Jacint Borras, one of the founders of the now-defunct pro-independence Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC). Opponents of secessionism, on the other hand, hope that prison sentences for Catalan leaders will deter illegal attempts to break up Spain. He has been in pre-trial detention since March 2018. Forn has a long political history in Barcelona, serving as a member of the city’s municipal council since 1999 and first deputy mayor from 2011 to 2015. Catalan separatist leaders on trial in Spain. Speaking outside the courtroom, Mr. Van den Eynde, the defense lawyer, said a trial that he views as already politicized could be influenced by a snap election. But budgetary defeat on Wednesday could force Mr. Sánchez to call elections before the summer, which means they could take place before verdicts are made public. Prosecutors have called for sentences of up to 25 years. Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena accused Romeva of trying to create the “structures of a [Catalan] state” independent from Spain and of trying to promote the acceptance of a Catalan state in his role in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. The defendants, he argued, have already faced legal proceeding in which “every constitutional right has been restricted.”. Leaders of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium Cultural (OC) – two pro-independence civil society organisations – will also stand trial. The defendants face a combined total of roughly 200 years in prison if they are given maximum sentences. The defendants are being tried for their role in the failed push for independence in 2017. To stay in office, he needs to maintain the support of the separatist parties that have governed in Catalonia, the wealthy northeastern region of Spain, since 2015. The Spanish Attorney General’s Office is asking for 17 years‘ imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 10 years. He was the counsellor of business and culture at the time of the independence referendum and has been charged with embezzlement and disobedience in relation to his alleged involvement. The Spanish Attorney General’s Office is asking for 17 years‘ imprisonment for both, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded eight years. On Tuesday, María Jesús Montero, Spain’s budget minister, told lawmakers that the trial and conflict over Catalonia had “polarized” the debate over the budget, but insisted that “this government will not cede to any blackmail” from separatist lawmakers. 02 March 2019 11:10 AM. The long-awaited trial of the leaders of the Catalan independence movement is underway. imprisonment for both, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded eight years. He is charged with rebellion and embezzlement. Carme Forcadell, the former president of the Catalan parliament, was charged with rebellion and accused of voting for independence ahead of the declaration of independence. The trial of 12 Catalan separatists has begun in Spain. Outside the Supreme Court building, television crews under heavy police surveillance jostled for space; some 600 journalists have been accredited to cover the trial. Twelve people are accused of calling a referendum and declaring independence in 2017 despite Spain’s opposition, including grassroots activists and some of Catalonia’s top political leaders. Both the Spanish Attorney General’s Office and the Solicitor General of Spain asked for 7 years for Mundo. Who are the 12 Catalan leaders facing years in prison? The 12 separatist leaders face up to 25 years in jail on charges of rebellion, sedition and misappropriation of public funds. the Solicitor General of Spain asked for 7 years for Mundo. The trial of 12 Catalan leaders facing charges of rebellion and sedition opened in Madrid on Tuesday. Hundreds of witnesses will be heard. successfully resisted Spain’s attempts to extradite him. Basque people hold a sign reading "you will never walk alone, we are with you. She was elected to the parliament of Catalonia in 2015 and served as the counsellor of labour, social affairs and families under Puigdemont. Twelve defendants will stand trial before the Spanish Supreme Court, According to court filings, their lawyers intend to claim that the Catalan separatists are being prosecuted for their. #Catalan #Catalonia #Trial imprisonment for Romeva, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years. The trial against Catalan independence leaders, set to have a major political impact on Spain, is starting on February 12. Mundo made a surprise announcement that he was leaving politics in January 2018, shortly after he was freed. He was released on bail in December 2017 after winning re-election in the regional vote called by the Spanish government. Junqueras told Politico in an interview he will “only consider acquittal” and will not ask for a pardon if found guilty. Four hours earlier, in a chilly pre-dawn scene, television camera operators and photographers started gathering, to get a good position, outside of the stately 18th-century courthouse. Both t. the Solicitor General of Spain have asked for a sentence of seven years. His indictment also states he understood the risk of violence related to the referendum but chose to go forward regardless. According to court filings, their lawyers intend to claim the Catalan separatists are being prosecuted for their political beliefs, such as Catalan nationalism, and the act of voting. Romeva told Reuters news agency the imprisoned, “see the trial as an opportunity to address public opinion and society in Catalonia, Spain and obviously at an international level.”. MADRID — After listening to 422 witnesses in four months, the Spanish Supreme Court on Wednesday closed the trial of 12 leaders of the Catalan independence movement accused … The two Jordis are pro-independence civil society leaders – Sanchez of the ANC and Cuixart of the OC. Almost every aspect of the criminal case has been the subject of intense political feuding, from the location of the trial — in Madrid rather than Barcelona — to the decision by Spain’s judiciary to deny bail for most of the defendants and to keep them in prison since late 2017. The Spanish Attorney General’s Office is asking for 16 years‘ imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years. More than a year has passed since Catalonia’s regional parliament voted to declare independence from Spain following a contested referendum that saw Spanish police violently disperse Catalan voters. Catalan protesters block roads over Spanish cabinet meeting (2:40), US Capitol riot: Democrats to introduce Trump impeachment article, UK coronavirus cases top 3 million as death toll passes 80,000, National carriers announce resumption of Qatar-Saudi air travel, Beyond Capitol riot, Trump voter fraud claims leave their mark, Woman who falsely accused Black teen of theft is arrested, Missing Indonesian plane feared crashed as debris found, Trump’s incitement, plan to skip inauguration recalls Civil War, Republican Senator calls on Trump to resign, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. The minority government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces a crucial parliamentary vote on his national budget on Wednesday. Testimonies of Catalan leaders on trial in 12 quotes . Llarena accused Turull of propelling mobilisations in favour of the referendum and designing and managing the referendum’s advertising. Rull, a PDeCAT member and parliamentarian for 20 years, was the counsellor for territory and sustainability under Puigdemont. (CNN) The leaders of the failed 2017 Catalan independence movement appeared in court on Tuesday for the start of a long-awaited trial that has the whole of Spain talking. Spain’s Supreme Court is expected to issue a verdict in the trial of Catalan separatist leaders over their role in an independence referendum in 2017. imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 10 years. On Wednesday, Mr. Sánchez’s minority Socialist government faces a crucial parliamentary vote on his national budget. Bassa was charged with rebellion and embezzlement for using her ministry to assume part of the costs related to the independence referendum. Te cuentan que subir a un coche es delito de rebelión y 20 años de cárcel. Joaquim Forn, the former Catalan minister of interior who oversaw carrying out the attorney general’s orders in Catalonia, is also charged with rebellion and embezzlement. Borras, who was the counsellor of government and institutional relations under Puigdemont, has been charged with disobedience and embezzlement. The Spanish Attorney General’s Office is asking for 16 years‘ imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years. “We have always been betting on political dialogue within our constitutional framework, but we have to make clear the framework — nothing outside our constitutional order,” she said. Twelve defendants will stand trial before the Spanish Supreme Court on Tuesday for their alleged roles in the events leading to the October 2017 declaration. Andreu Van den Eynde, a lawyer for Mr. Junqueras who opened the proceedings, cast the case as a matter of free expression, the right to protest and the right to vote. The Spanish Attorney General’s Office is asking for 16 years‘ imprisonment for Romeva, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years. Raul Romeva, a Catalan politician, former MEP, economist and analyst, was the head of foreign affairs under Puigdemont. They face up to 25 years behind bars on charges of rebellion and other offences for pushing an independence referendum in October 2017 in defiance of a court ban, and for a brief declaration of independence. “They are responsible for dividing the Spanish people and making people fight each other within their own country — I cannot think of a more serious crime.”. The defendants face a combined total of roughly 200 years in prison if they are given maximum sentences. Most of the politicians to stand trial come from two political parties: the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and the centrist Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT). In the surrounding streets, a few protesters, some of whom carried Spanish flags, denounced Mr. Sánchez for his handling of the Catalan conflict and called for his ouster — a small echo of the anti-government demonstration that drew tens of thousands of people on Sunday. Protests as Catalan leaders face trial: in pictures. The trial of 12 Catalan independence politicians and activists over their role in the 2017 attempt to break Catalonia from Spain started on Tuesday at Madrid’s Supreme Court. “I rely on the judges to do what the politicians haven’t done and put an end to any attempt to destroy Spain,” said Santiago Pulido, a house painter, who held a sign with a drawing of two defendants with devil’s horns. He has been charged with rebellion and embezzlement. Rull was accused of playing a “significant” role in the independence movement since 2015, as well as stopping Spanish national police from carrying out efforts to stop the independence referendum. Twelve Catalan separatist leaders went on trial in Madrid on Tuesday over a failed independence bid that laid bare historical divisions and triggered Spain's biggest political crisis in decades. The defendants’ supporters see the conditions as reinforcing the independence movement’s complaints about an oppressive central government. imprisonment, while the Solicitor General of Spain demanded 11 years for Bassa. Twelve Catalan separatist leaders, most of them members of the former regional government, were convicted by Spain's Supreme Court on Monday for their role in a controversial independence bid in 2017. Both the Spanish Attorney General’s Office and the Solicitor General of Spain have asked for a sentence of seven years. Vila paid a 50,000 euro ($57,000) bail in November 2017 and resigned from PDeCAT in June 2018. the Solicitor General of Spain have asked for a seven-year sentence. They faced accusations of encouraging violence against Spanish national police during the protests, but numerous media outlets have published a video of the two men climbing on top of a car to ask demonstrators to remain peaceful. She was accused of “medullary” involvement as the former president of ANC, a position she held from 2012 to 2015. A highly anticipated court case begins in Spain on Tuesday, as 12 Catalan leaders face trial for their alleged role in their region’s failed bid for independence. He was charged with embezzlement and disobedience. Jordi Turull, a lawyer and PDeCAT member whose political career began in 1987, had been a deputy in the Catalan parliament since 2004 when he was chosen as the counsellor and spokesman of the presidency by Puigdemont in 2017. Mr. Sánchez came into office unexpectedly in June, after winning a vote of no-confidence against the previous conservative government, with the backing of Basque and Catalan nationalist lawmakers. If a majority of lawmakers reject it, including Catalan lawmakers who have so far backed the prime minister, he will almost certainly be forced to call elections. As 12 Catalan separatist leaders prepare to go on trial in Madrid, Spain has been forced to defend the independence and impartiality of its courts. Carles Mundo, a lawyer, former counsellor of justice under Puigdemont and ERC member, was imprisoned along with Junqueras in November 2017 following the independence declaration. Madrid trial of separatists seen as the most important since Spain’s return to democracy The 12 separatist leaders sit at their trial at the Spanish supreme court in Madrid. Nine of them were handed jail terms and three were fined Catalan vice president: 13 years Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have asked for their release. Catalan secessionist leaders charged with rebellion were moved from Barcelona to Madrid for the ‘trial of the century’. The highly-anticipated trial of 12 Catalan leaders, for their failed bid to break away the region of Catalonia, from Spain, was due to begin at 10 a.m. at Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid. Twelve separatist Catalan leaders appeared in Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid on Tuesday, facing charges including rebellion and misuse of public funds. The 12 Catalan separatists appeared before Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid on Tuesday. Santi Vila was a long-time member of the CDC and subsequently PDeCAT. “We will not make a political defense, but we will defend human values and rights,” Mr. Van den Eynde said. The trial, at Madrid's Supreme Court, follows Catalonia's independence referendum and failed attempt to secede from Spain in October 2017. 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