The trial of 12 Catalan secessionist leaders involved in an attempt to secede from Spain got underway in the country's Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The long-awaited trial has re-ignited tensions over the future of Catalonia. Hundreds of police, including from anti-terrorism units, have been deployed around the court building in Madrid.
Catalonia declared independence from Spain in October 2017 following a referendum that had been carried out in defiance of a court ban. The declaration sparked Spain's worst political crisis since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
The Supreme Court building in Madrid
Serious charges
The defendants are facing charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, charges which carry a jail term of up to 25 years.
Nine of the accused have been jailed without bail since late 2017 and early 2018, including former Catalan vice president and regional economy minister Oriol Junqueras and former speaker of the Catalan regional parliament Carme Forcadell, who read out the declaration of independence in the assembly.
The defendants are not scheduled to speak in court on the first day of the trial, which is reserved for procedural issues.
The trial, which will be transmitted live on national television, is expected to last three months, with the verdicts delivered several months later.
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium days after the independence declaration, is not among the defendants. Spain does not try suspects in absentia for major offences.
In Berlin on Tuesday, Puigdemont said the trial marked a stress test for Spain's democracy.
"I trust, however, that the Spanish state will take advantage of this chance to issue the correct sentence, which is absolution," he said.
'Politically motivated' trial
Catalan separatists have rejected the trial as a politically motivated "farce."
"The world is looking at Madrid ... what they want is not to judge but to condemn on political reasons," Olivier Peter, a lawyer for one of the accused, told reporters on Monday.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The declaration
As the world watched, Catalonia's parliament voted 70 to 10 for the region to declare its independence from Spain. "Our legitimate parliament has taken a very important step. This is the people's mandate," Puigdemont said after the decision. Dozens of opposition lawmakers from the Socialist Party, Citizens Party and Popular Party had walked out of the parliament chamber to boycott the vote.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The despair
Within an hour of the Catalan vote, the Spanish Senate in Madrid passed a bill to trigger Article 155 of the Spanish constitution. The measure will allow the central government to suspend Catalonia's autonomy. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would sack Catalonia’s government and set new regional elections for December 21.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The dismissal
European leaders were quick to condemn the independence declaration. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the Union "doesn't need any more cracks," while EU Council President Donald Tusk said Madrid "remains our only interlocutor." Leaders in Germany, France, Italy and the UK voiced their support for Madrid. The US also chimed in, saying "Catalonia is an integral part of Spain."
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The dispute
Barcelona and Madrid had been in a standoff since 93 percent of voters opted for Catalan independence in an October 1 referendum marred by police violence. Spain said the poll was illegal and stressed the low voter turnout of 43 percent. It subsequently threatened to suspend the region's autonomy if Catalan leaders did not stop their drive for independence.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The defiance
Many had expected tensions to ease on October 26 when Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was expected to call snap elections to bow to a key Spanish government demand. But Puigdemont refused, saying that he did not have enough "guarantees" from Madrid. Instead, he called on the Catalan parliament to decide on how to respond to Spain's threat to suspend the region's autonomy.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The dream
Tens of thousands of pro-independence protesters had taken to the streets of Barcelona ahead of the independence declaration to demand the region's secession and the release of two leaders of pro-independence organizations, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez. Independence has divided Catalonia. Many who supported continued unity with Spain refused to vote in the October 1 referendum.
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Catalonia declares independence from Spain
The delight
The pro-independence crowds outside the Catalan parliament immediately rejoiced after hearing the independence declaration. Many people were draped in the "Estelada" flag associated with Catalan independence. Some reportedly called for the Spanish flag to be removed from the Catalan government palace as regional lawmakers arrived from the parliament. (Author: Alexander Pearson)
Author: Alexander Pearson
Pro-independence Catalan leader Quim Torra, who will attend the opening session of the trial, called for the acquittal of the defendants.
"We're at the Supreme Court to accuse the Spanish state of violating the civil and political rights of all Catalans," Torra tweeted after holding a banner that read: "Deciding is not an offence."
Secessionists have called on Catalans to briefly stop work at midday on Tuesday in protest against the trial, and to join a rally in Barcelona in the evening. Another major demonstration is planned for the weekend.
Right-wing rally
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people took part in a mass protest called by right-wing and far-right parties in Madrid against Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez over his negotiations with Catalan separatists.
Sanchez, who came to power in June with the support of Catalan nationalist parties, had resumed talks which were called off by his predecessor Mariano Rajoy.
But the talks broke down last week after Catalan separatists maintained their demand to hold an independence referendum.
Snap polls?
Sanchez's minority government needs the support of Catalan separatist parties to approve its 2019 budget, scheduled to come up for vote on Wednesday.
The separatists have so far vowed to block the bill, which could force Sanchez to call a snap parliamentary poll later this year.
Sanchez said on Tuesday he expected both the right and pro-independence lawmakers to vote against his budget.
"They both want the same: a divided Catalonia and a divided Spain. We are working for a Catalonia in peace and a united Spain," he tweeted.
ap/jm (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Rich ancient heritage
Catalonia has been settled by the Phoenicians, the Etruscans and the Greeks, who were mainly in the coastal areas of Rosas and Empuries (above). Then came the Romans, who built more settlements and infrastructure. Catalonia remained a part of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by the Visigoths in the fifth century.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Counties and independence
Catalonia was conquered by Arabs in 711 AD. The Frankish king Charlemagne stopped their advance at Tours on the Loire River and, by 759, the north of Catalonia was once again Christian. In 1137, the counties that made up Catalonia entered an alliance with the Crown of Aragon.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Autonomy and the war of succession
In the 13th century, the institutions of Catalan self-administration were created under the banner of the Generalitat de Catalunya. After the unification of the Crown of Aragon with that of Castile in 1476, Aragon was largely able to keep its autonomic institutions. However, the Catalan revolt — from 1640 to 1659 — saw parts of Catalonia ceded to present-day France.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Remembrance of defeat
After the conquest of Barcelona on September 11, 1714, by the Bourbon King Phillip V, Catalan instuitutions were dissolved and self-administration came to an end. Every year, on September 11, Catalans commemorate the end of their right to autonomy.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Federal ideas in wider republic
After the abdication of King Amadeo I of Spain, the first Spanish Republic was declared in February 1873. It lasted barely a year. The supporters of the Republic were split – one group supporting the idea of a centralized republic, the others wanting a federal system. Pictured here is Francisco Pi i Maragall, a supporter of federalism and one of five presidents of the short-lived republic.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Failed attempt
Catalonia sought to establish a new state within the Spanish republic, but this only served to exacerbate the differences between republicans, ultimately dividing and weakening them. In 1874, the monarchy and the House of Bourbon (led by King Alfonso XII, pictured here) took the helm.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Catalan Republic
Between 1923 — with the support of the monarchy, the army and the church — General Primo de Rivera declared a dictatorship. Catalonia became a center of opposition and resistance. After the end of the dictatorship, the politician Francesc Macia (pictured here) successfully pressed for important rights of autonomy for Catalonia.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
The end of freedom
In the Second Spanish Republic, Catalan lawmakers worked on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. This was approved by the Spanish parliament in 1932. Francesc Macia was elected president of the Generalitat of Catalonia by the Catalan parliament. However, the victory of Franco at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) put an end to all that.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Loss of liberties
The Franco regime ruled with an iron rod. Political parties were banned and the Catalan language and culture were surpressed.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
New autonomy by statute
After the first parliamentary elections that followed the end of the Franco dictatorship, the Generalitat of Catalonia was provisionally restored. Under the democratic Spanish constitution of 1978, Catalonia was given a new Statute of Autonomy just a year later.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
New and different statute
The new Statute of Autonomy recognized the autonomy of Catalonia and the importance of the Catalan language. In comparison to the 1932 statute, it was enhanced in the fields of culture and education but curtailed when it came to the realm of justice. Pictured here is Jordi Pujol, the long-time head of the government of Catalonia after the dictatorship.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Stronger self-awareness
A desire for independence has grown stronger in recent years. In 2006, Catalonia was given a new statute that broadened the Catalan government's powers. However, it lost these after a complaint by the conservative Popular Party to the Constitutional Court of Spain.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
First referendum
A referendum on independence was already envisaged for November 9, 2014. The first question was "Do you want Catalonia to become a state?" In the case of an affirmative answer, the second question was posed: "Do you want this state to be independent?" However, the Constitutional Court suspended the vote.
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Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
Clash of the titans
Since January 2016, Carles Puigdemont has been president of the Catalan government. He proceeded with the separatist course of his predecessor Artur Mas and called the new referendum for October 1, 2017. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed this as unconstitutional.
Author: Richard Connor
