Spanish court charges Catalan leaders with rebellion

politico.eu - Spain’s Supreme Court said on Friday it will try 13 Catalan independence leaders on charges of rebellion, including ousted regional President Carles Puigdemont and his top aides and allies.

A judge later ordered that four of them should be jailed without bail.

Judge Pablo Llarena’s decision to bring formal charges means the secessionist leaders face potential jail terms of 25-30 years. It also complicates the Catalan parliament’s attempts to replace Puigdemont, who is in exile in Belgium to avoid being jailed over last year’s attempt to declare independence from Spain.

In total, Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena indicted 25 former officials and pro-independence leaders on charges including misuse of public funds and disobedience. He also ordered the main group to pay back €2.1 million to cover the cost of last year’s referendum, which Madrid declared illegal, and court costs.

In a statement, the court said the indictment concerns activities going back six years designed to “execute a predetermined plan with the aim of declaring Catalonia’s independence, outside of the law.”

The judge later said Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell should be placed in pre-trial detention.

The 13 former officials indicted with the most serious charge — rebellion — include Puigdemont; his jailed former deputy Orio Junqueras; the former speaker of the Catalan parliament Carme Forcadell; and two men proposed by the independence movement to replace Puigdemont: Jordi Sànchez of the grassroots Catalan National Assembly (ANC), whose candidacy was blocked because he is in jail; and Turull, who failed to secure the post at a first attempt in the regional parliament on Thursday. ContinueReading

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