A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive former regional president Carles Puigdemont, with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive former regional president Carles Puigdemont, with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain.

Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 30 years in prison under Spanish law. In a court ruling issued on Friday, Judge Llarena said that 25 Catalans in total will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience.

Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, who is already in pre-trial detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell; jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart; and the leader of the left-republican ERC party, Marta Rovira, who defied the judge’s summons and announced on Friday that she was fleeing Spain. In a letter addressed to her party followers and posted on ERC’s website, Rovira did not say whether she had left Spain already or where she might go.

“Today I undertake a hard road, a path that, unfortunately, so many others that preceded us have had to take,” Rovira wrote, adding: “The path of exile.” Five other Catalan politicians, including Puigdemont, fled to Brussels following the failed secession attempt in late October.

An anti-establishment party’s former politician, Anna Gabriel, fled to Switzerland earlier this year. The unity of Spain is enshrined in the constitution, which says the country is “indivisible”, and courts have blocked Catalonia’s independence efforts at every turn.

Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) The judge also required the 14 ex-members of the Catalan cabinet to pay 2.1 million euros (£1.8 million) as a deposit before the trial establishes whether they need to pay back misused public funds. That figure includes 1.6 million euros that, according to the judicial investigation, were used to pay for the October 1 referendum that set the turbulent events in motion.

Six of the politicians were summoned to court on Friday – an indication that the judge may later in the day order them jailed pending trial. They include Jordi Turull, a former minister of the ousted regional cabinet, who on Thursday failed in his bid to be elected as the region’s new president.

The semi-autonomous region has been without a leader for nearly five months after central authorities took control following October’s illegal independence declaration. Puigdemont indicated his resolve was not shaken by the charges. “Let’s see what happens tomorrow, what happens today. Every day things change,” Puigdemont said in Helsinki, where he was on a visit.

He also aimed criticism at the judge’s decision, suggesting Judge Llarena was influenced by the political climate. “It is not right for a judge to do politics,” Puigdemont said. Judge Llarena described the case as “an attack on the constitutional state that, through the desire to impose a change in the form of government for Catalonia and the rest of the country, is of unusual gravity and persistence”. </s> Catalan separatist leaders Jordi Turull (2R) and Josep Rull (C) arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid

Spain's Supreme Court said on Friday that it would prosecute 13 key Catalan separatists for "rebellion", as Marta Rovira became the latest leading pro-independence figure to flee abroad to escape charges over the region's breakaway bid.

Among those prosecuted are Catalonia's sacked president Carles Puigdemont and his designated successor, Jordi Turull.



 'Junts per Catalonia' member of Catalonia's parliament Jordi Turull during the session on Thursday. Photo: AFP

If found guilty, they face up to 30 years in prison.

Judge Pablo Llarena accused Puigdemont -- currently in self-imposed exile in Belgium -- of organising the independence referendum in October last year despite a ban from Madrid and "grave risk of violent incidents".

Turull, a former government spokesman, is already under investigation over Catalonia's secession drive but so far remains free under bail. He was due to appear in court Friday along with several other leading separatists.

But one of them, Marta Rovira, ignored the summons and instead announced she was taking "the road to exile".

Rovira is deputy leader of the leftwing separatist ERC party, whose chief is currently in jail.



 Marta Rovira said she would go into exile. Photo: AFP

She was placed under judicial control in February, but the judge stopped short of putting her behind bars for the duration of an ongoing probe into charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

In a statement released by her party, Rovira said she felt her "freedom of expression was being censored by the courts which intimidate and shamelessly apply political criteria".

Rovira, who did not specify where she was headed, is the seventh separatist to flee abroad to escape charges.

Separatist parties won regional elections in December called by Madrid after they attempted to secede, retaining their absolute majority in parliament.

But they have still not been able to form a government as their two previous candidates for the presidency proved problematic.

As a result, Catalonia remains under direct rule from Madrid, imposed after the declaration.

The separatist parties failed to elect a new regional president on Thursday after their most radical faction refused to back Turull in a vote of confidence.

A second round parliamentary vote is due to take place on Saturday. </s> MADRID (AP) — The Latest on Spain's confrontation with Catalan separatists (all times local):

Spain's Supreme Court says international arrest warrants have been issued for six fugitive Catalan politicians, including ousted regional chief Carles Puigdemont, who were indicted for rebellion on Friday.

The arrest orders also affect four more ex members of Puigdemont's cabinet and the separatist ERC party's Marta Rovira, who ignored a court summons on Friday and announced in a letter she was fleeing the country to live "in exile."

Spanish media say Rovira has arrived in Switzerland.

Rovira was only charged with rebellion for the attempt to make Catalonia independent of Spain. The other five Catalan politicians were also charged with misuse of public funds.

Spanish courts sought Puigdemont's extradition from Brussels last year but later canceled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge is sending to jail without bail five Catalan politicians charged with rebellion who showed up for a summons in Madrid.

Former Catalan parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell, ex-Catalan minister Jordi Turull —who had been proposed as Catalonia's next president— and three more officials are expected to enter prisons Friday near Madrid.

Another summoned politician, the ERC party's Marta Rovira, ignored the court order and announced by letter that she was fleeing the country.

Spain's top prosecutor had demanded that all be jailed since there was a high risk of them repeating the crimes they are accused of.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he is not enthusiastic about holding another regional election in Catalonia.

The wealthy northeastern region, where pro-independence politicians have been trying to win independence from Spain, held a snap election last December. But it still doesn't have a president or a government because of legal wrangles and political disputes with the national government over the secession bid.

The separatist majority of Catalonia's parliament failed for a third time to elect its candidate as regional president during a vote Thursday. That started a two-month countdown to find a leader and a government, otherwise another election must be called.

Rajoy said Friday in Brussels that he doesn't like repeat elections, saying "people vote and politicians have a duty to resolve problems and not create others."

Catalonia's fugitive ex-president says he has not spoken to the latest separatist lawmaker to flee Spain.

Speaking at a press conference at the University of Helsinki on Friday, Carles Puigdemont denied discussing exile with Marta Rovira, who defied a summons to appear in Spanish court hours earlier.

Still, Puigdemont says he fully supports her decision to do so.

Puigdemont, who is himself in self-imposed exile in Belgium, also criticized a Spanish judge's decision to charge him and other 12 Catalan separatists with rebellion on Friday.

"It is not right for a judge to do politics," the former leader said just moments after the court ruling.

Puigdemont's comments come one day after the pro-independence majority of Catalonia's parliament failed to elect a regional president.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge is requiring the 14 members of the former Catalan Cabinet to pay a collective deposit of 2.1 million euros ($2.6 million) before an upcoming trial establishes whether they misused public funds for an illegal independence referendum.

The figure, disclosed in Judge Pablo Llarena's Friday ruling into Spain's gravest political crisis in decades, includes 1.6 million euros of public money which, according to the judicial investigation, were deviated to pay for the Oct. 1 vote in Spain's northeastern region.

The judge also says that the strategy to seek unilateral secession may remain "latent," as the roadmap designed by separatists included plans to renew the leadership of Catalan parties and civil society groups.

Llarena describes the case as "an attack on the constitutional State that, with the will to impose a change in the form of government for Catalonia and the rest of the country, encompasses an unusual gravity and persistence."

Spanish Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena says that Catalan separatist politicians and civil society groups have "colluded" for the past six years to execute a plan to declare Catalonia's independence, in violation of Spain's legal order.

In a court ruling issued Friday at the end of a four-month investigation into the turbulent events that led to a failed declaration of independence, Llarena said that 25 Catalans will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience.

Thirteen, including ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and members of his Cabinet, are charged with rebellion, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive president Carles Puigdemont, with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain.

Judge Pablo Llarena issued the indictment Friday, wrapping up a four-month long investigation into the events last fall.

Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 30 years in prison under Spanish laws.

Also charged with rebellion are Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart and ERC party leader Marta Rovira, who on Friday announced that she was fleeing Spain.

A prominent Catalan separatist politician has defied a summons to appear in a Spanish court and says in a letter to her party followers that she has chosen "the path to exile."

Marta Rovira does not say in the letter whether she has left Spain already or where she might go, but six other Catalan politicians, including ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, earlier fled to Brussels.

As the secretary general of the Catalan republican-left ERC party, Rovira played a key role in last year's events, including an independence referendum that led to a failed attempt to secede from Spain.

"Today I undertake a hard road, a path that, unfortunately, so many others that preceded us have had to take," Rovira wrote in a letter posted on ERC's website. "The path of exile."

The unity of Spain in enshrined in the country's Constitution and secession is not allowed without a reform of the top law.

A Spanish Supreme Court probe into last year's attempt to secede Catalonia from Spain wraps up Friday with the judge expected to charge 28 regional politicians and separatist leaders with offenses that may include rebellion.

Judge Pablo Llarena has summoned lawyers, prosecutors, as well as six separatist politicians — an indication that he may order them jailed pending trial. They include Jordi Turull, a former minister of the ousted regional Cabinet who on Thursday failed in his bid to be elected as the region's new president, as well as a former speaker of the Catalan parliament and prominent members of the republican-left ERC party.

Four other accused are already in custody and six have fled overseas.

The semiautonomous region has been without a leader for nearly five months after central authorities took control following an illegal independence declaration.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Bernat Armangue, Pool, Reuters | Jailed Catalan separatists Jordi Sanchez and Oriol Junqueras attend the opening session of parliament in Madrid, Spain, on May 21, 2019

Five Catalan separatist leaders who won election to the Spanish parliament last month were temporarily released from jail on Tuesday to be sworn in as lawmakers.

But the five men, who are on trial for their role in an October 2017 Catalonian secession attempt, could see their mandates quickly suspended by the assembly because of their legal situation.

Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez, Jordi Turull and Josep Rull won seats in the Congress, the lower house of parliament, while Raul Romeva was elected to the Senate, the upper house.

They arrived at the two assemblies from a jail near Madrid for the swearing-in ceremony in police vehicles to applause from their supporters. The ceremony marked the first time the Spanish Parliament has convened since the country’s highly polarised legislative election on April 28.

Like other lawmakers, they will swore to respect the Spanish constitution – the same constitution they are accused of having violated with their push for independence.

Although the Spanish Supreme Court has allowed the five separatist leaders to attend the opening legislative sessions in Madrid, they are likely to be barred from future meetings by the chambers’ governing bodies, due to be elected later on Tuesday.

“They want to silence and marginalise us, and the ballot box has given our voice back,” Junqueras, a former Catalan vice president and the head of leftist Catalan separatist party ERC, told AFP in a written interview from jail.

He is the main protagonist in the trial that opened in February of 12 Catalan leaders accused of rebellion and other charges in connection with a banned independence referendum held on October 1, 2017. The vote was followed by a short-lived declaration of independence.

Junqueras is also standing in European Parliament elections on Sunday.

Since 2017, Catalan separatist parties have presented jailed or exiled leaders, such as former regional president Carles Puigdemont, as election candidates to draw attention to their plight and create pressure for their release.

The sight of the separatist leaders – who sparked Spain’s worst political crisis in decades with their bid to break Catalonia away from Spain – taking their seats in parliament could inflame passions on both sides of a divided country.

The first job for the presidency councils of both the lower and upper houses of parliament will be to decide whether the Catalan MPs on trial will be suspended from their duties.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) and centre-right Ciudadanos have said they will try to stop the five men from occupying their posts.

“We can’t deny that the situation and the scenario are exceptional but in any case judicial decisions will be respected,” said Meritxell Batet, outgoing minister for territorial policy who is the Socialists’ candidate for speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists won the most seats in the April 28 general election, but the party is more than fifty seats short of a majority in the 350-seat lower house of parliament.

Boosted by its fierce opposition to Catalan separatism, far-right party Vox won 24 seats and will enter parliament. It’s a first not only for the party, but more generally for the Spanish far right, which has not been represented in the country’s legislature since dictator General Francisco Franco’s death in 1975.

To be sworn in again as prime minister, Sanchez is likely to rely on some parties abstaining from voting.

If the jailed Catalan lawmakers are not allowed to take part in Sanchez’s investiture vote, the threshold to be approved will be lower and he could be sworn in without relying on Catalan separatist parties abstaining. Sanchez has put off negotiations on governing alliances until after the European ballot on Sunday, which also coincides with municipal elections in Spain.

The government might not be formed until as late as July, FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reported from Madrid.

Sanchez, who in June 2018 took over from Mariano Rajoy, a conservative, as prime minister, has bet on dialogue with Catalonia to ease tensions sparked by the separatist push.

Conservative parties have repeatedly attacked his overtures to the separatists, who still rule Catalonia, and have instead called for the wealthy northeastern region’s autonomy to be suspended.

Catalan separatists, who consider Junqueras and the other 11 leaders on trial in Madrid as “political prisoners”, are sending Sanchez mixed messages.

The ERC separatist party said it is open to dialogue, but insists on holding an independence referendum in Catalonia, which Sanchez steadfastly refuses.

Catalan separatist parties also blocked last week the nomination of the Socialists’ leader in Catalonia, Miquela Aceta, to be the speaker of the Senate.

In response Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who is a Catalan, blasted the separatists’ for their “totalitarian attitude”.

Sanchez then nominated another Catalan to be speaker of the Senate, philosopher Manuel Cruz, as well as a Catalan to be speaker of the lower house, Bate. </s> Five Catalan political leaders who are on trial for rebellion are scheduled to attend the Spanish parliament on Tuesday for the inauguration of the new legislature, amid uncertainty over whether they will be allowed to take part in parliamentary activity.

Oriol Junqueras, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull and Jordi Sànchez won seats in Congress in last month’s general election, despite being in jail and on trial in the supreme court. Fellow pro-independence politician Raül Romeva, who is also behind bars and on trial, was elected to the Senate. All five are due to be escorted from the prison where they are being held in Madrid to attend parliament’s opening session.

On Monday, the trial was suspended as the five men picked up their parliamentary credentials from the upper and lower houses. Their trial is due to resume on Wednesday.

“Today we have been able to leave Soto del Real prison thanks to your votes so that we can collect our credentials,” Mr Junqueras, former vice-president of Catalonia and currently leader of the Catalan Republic Left (ERC), said in a brief video posted on Twitter. “Your votes have freed us.”

Mr Romeva also represents ERC, while Messrs Rull, Turull and Sànchez won seats for Together for Catalonia (JxCat). None of them was allowed to address the media or meet privately with colleagues during their visit, which was closely controlled by police.

JxCat spokeswoman Laura Borràs described the restrictions on the jailed parliamentarians as “scandalous”.

All five are facing charges of violent rebellion and sedition for their alleged roles in Catalonia’s failed bid for independence in 2017, and could face lengthy jail sentences if found guilty. The trial began in February and is expected to end next month, although a verdict is unlikely before the summer.

Macarena Olona, a newly elected member of Congress for the far-right Vox party, which is one of the plaintiffs in the supreme court trial, decried the fact that the jailed Catalan leaders had been allowed to appear in parliament. She described their visit as “a failure of the rule of law that means five criminals have managed to get into public institutions in order to destroy Spain”.

ERC made gains in last month’s election, securing 15 seats in Congress and it could potentially be key in allowing the Socialists of prime minister Pedro Sánchez to form a new government after they emerged as winners but fell short of a majority.

However, although the jailed politicians are allowed to attend today’s session, the ability of the four members of Congress to take part in parliamentary business appears to be in the hands of the lower house’s presiding council.

Both the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Ciudadanos party have called for the presiding council to prevent the four from being able to take up their seats. If that were to happen and the suspended politicians did not delegate their seats, the change in parliamentary arithmetic could make the securing of a majority marginally easier. </s> Catalan's former leader, Carles Puigdemont, has been charged with rebellion for his attempt to declare independence from Spain.

Thirteen separatist politicians from the region have also been charged with the same and could face up to 30 years in prison under Spanish laws.

Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena issued the indictment on Friday, wrapping up a four-month long investigation into the events last autumn.

Catalan could face another regional election in two months after the separatist majority in its parliament failed to elect a president.

Puigdemont is currently living in self-imposed exile in Belgium and says the Spanish government has violated his rights to political freedom.

He faces arrest if he re-enters Spain.

Also charged with rebellion are Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart and ERC party leader Marta Rovira, who on Friday announced that she was fleeing Spain. </s> MADRID, July 10 — Spain’s Supreme Court today ordered former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other separatists be suspended as regional lawmakers after concluding a probe into their secession bid.

In a statement, the court said Judge Pablo Llarena had ordered “the suspension of... Carles Puigdemont and the other five lawmakers accused of the offence of rebellion.”

A total of 25 separatist leaders are under investigation for their involvement in a failed independence declaration on October 27, which prompted Spain’s then government to sack the regional executive and impose direct rule on Catalonia.

This was only lifted last month when a new separatist executive took office in Catalonia after snap regional elections in December voted pro-independence parties back into power.

Of the 25, 13 are accused of rebellion and risk up to 25 years in prison.

Nine are in preventative custody in Spain while four others fled abroad and are wanted by Spanish courts.

Puigdemont is awaiting possible extradition from Germany.

While they could not take part in parliamentary sessions in Barcelona, the six lawmakers kept their posts after being elected in the December polls, delegating their votes to party colleagues.

With the suspension, Catalan separatist parties will have to replace them if they want to maintain their absolute majority of 70 of the parliament’s 135 seats.

“This decision highlights the quality level of the state’s democracy,” Puigdemont tweeted.

“Citizens’ votes, shattered by a ‘justice system’ that continues to engage in politics.”

The court’s ruling comes a day after Catalonia’s new separatist president Quim Torra met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with both pledging to ease tensions despite divergences over the region’s right to self-determination.

Now that the court’s probe is over, a trial is inching closer. Spanish media say it could take place in October. — AFP </s> BARCELONA, Spain — The Latest on Catalan independence activists (all times local):

A lawyer representing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other Catalan politicians who have been charged in Spain for violent rebellion has appealed to the U.N.’s Human Rights Committee to help defend their democratic rights.

Nico Krisch denounced a “grave interference in the democratic order” linked to the charges against Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium, as well as Oriol Junqueras, Raul Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull. The five are being held in pre-trial detention in Spain.

The Catalan politicians have been charged and suspended from office by Spain’s Supreme Court for their roles in organizing an independence referendum in Catalonia 14 months ago.

The effort announced Thursday seeks the Geneva-based committee’s intervention to help ensure their democratic right to exercise their parliamentary mandate.

A spokeswoman for four jailed Catalan separatist leaders says they are abandoning their hunger strike more than two weeks after starting it because they consider that their protest has achieved its goals.

Speaking on behalf of the politicians, who are awaiting trial for their part in last year’s attempt to secede from Spain, Pilar Calvo said Thursday the strike has drawn attention to the separatists’ plight and prompted Spain’s constitutional Court to review some of their appeals, which enables them to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Pro-independence activist-turned-politician Jordi Sanchez and former Catalan cabinet member Jordi Turull began their hunger strike on Dec. 1. Ex-regional ministers Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn joined two days later.

The constitutional Court had said the appeals were following the normal judicial calendar. </s> MADRID: Spain’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other separatists be suspended as regional lawmakers after concluding a probe into their succession bid.

 In a statement, the court said Judge Pablo Llarena had ordered “the suspension of… Carles Puigdemont and the other five lawmakers accused of the offence of rebellion.”

 A total of 25 separatist leaders are under investigation for their involvement in a failed independence declaration on October 27, which prompted Spain’s then government to sack the regional executive and impose direct rule on Catalonia.

 This was only lifted last month when a new separatist executive took office in Catalonia after snap regional elections in December voted pro-independence parties back into power. Of the 25, 13 are accused of rebellion and risk up to 25 years in prison. Nine are in preventative custody in Spain while four others fled abroad and are wanted by Spanish courts.

 Puigdemont is awaiting possible extradition from Germany.

 While they could not take part in parliamentary sessions in Barcelona, the six lawmakers kept their posts after being elected in the December polls, delegating their votes to party colleagues. — AFP
Thirteen Catalan separatist politicians appear before the Spanish Supreme Court. Marta Rovira, who is "self-exiled" in Switzerland, does not attend.