Image copyright EPA Image caption Major Trapero won plaudits for his handling of terror attacks in Barcelona and nearby last August, but was dismissed following the referendum

The former chief of Catalonia's police force, Josep Lluis Trapero, has been charged over events linked with last year's independence referendum.

He faces two Spanish counts of sedition and one of criminal organisation.

Other former regional officials were also charged by investigating judge Carmen Lamela. She accuses them of co-operating with an organised plan to seek Catalonia's secession.

Spain's constitutional court ruled the 1 October referendum illegal.

It is another setback for those who support the establishment of an independent state.

Many of the movement's most prominent figures face charges and some are in detention or the subject of arrest warrants.

The movement's former leader, Carles Puigdemont, is in a German jail while judicial authorities consider a Spanish extradition request.

The charges faced by the accused relate to events on 20 and 21 September, when crowds tried to obstruct Spanish police raiding devolved ministry buildings in a bid to prevent the referendum, and the 1 October referendum itself.

Judge Lamela alleged that Major Trapero's force adopted a passive stance to avoid taking action against the organisers of the independence drive and failed to respond to requests for help from the Civil Guard, who were acting on the Madrid government's orders.

In addition, she said, his force had leaked their action plans to those organising the referendum.

Two more members of the regional police and an official with the regional interior department were also charged with sedition - under Spanish law, preventing officers of the law from properly executing their duties.

The four accused are scheduled to testify before the judge on 16 April. </s> Spanish prosecutors have called for prison sentences of up to 25 years for those accused of leading last year’s failed Catalan independence bid, amid opposition claims that the government has tried to influence the judiciary.

The attorney general said the supreme court should try former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras, six other politicians and two rank-and-file leaders for rebellion for their role in an outlawed referendum held in October 2017, which was followed by a declaration of independence.

Mr Junqueras, who has been in jail since, faces a possible 25-year prison sentence and could be barred from public office for up to 25 years if found guilty. He is also accused of misuse of public funds. Former Catalan parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell and rank-and-file leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, who are all accused of rebellion and are also in custody, could face jail sentences of up to 17 years.

Five former ministers in the Catalan government face jail terms of up to 16 years for rebellion and misuse of public funds, while another nine defendants face lesser charges.

Meanwhile, former Catalan police chief Josep Lluís Trapero, who will be tried separately along with three others by the high court, could face a jail sentence of up to 11 years if found guilty of rebellion.

However, there was controversy when equivalent charges presented by the state lawyer’s office, which works in conjunction with the justice ministry, were noticeably more lenient. The state lawyer did not call for any of the defendants to be tried for the most serious charge of rebellion, asking for a 12-year sentence for Mr Junqueras for sedition and misuse of public funds.

The rebellion charge is particularly controversial as it implies that violence or the threat of it was used, something the independence movement insists was not the case.

Nonetheless, the state lawyer’s position drew an angry response from the Catalan government. The region’s president, Quim Torra, said that Madrid had “missed an opportunity to take the judicial dimension out of a conflict that is political”.

Meanwhile, unionist opposition parties claim that Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been pressuring the judiciary to soften its case against the independence leaders because he needs the parliamentary support of Catalan nationalists. The state lawyer’s refusal to use the rebellion charge therefore drew strong criticism.

Pablo Casado, leader of the conservative Popular Party, tweeted that it was “indecent that the government humiliates Spain by forcing the state lawyer to distance itself from the attorney general and not accuse the coup-mongers of rebellion”.

Justice minister Dolores Delgado denied that the government had influenced the position of the state lawyer’s office, which, she said, was based on “technical, professional and judicial criteria”.

The trial is expected to begin early next year.

Several others accused of involvement in last year’s referendum who are not in the country, such as former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, are not facing charges because they cannot be tried in their absence. </s> The Spanish prosecutor’s office demands a 25-year prison sentence for the leader of the pro-independence Catalan party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ErC), Oriol Junqueras, for a challenge to the central government that resulted in the unilateral declaration of independence on October 27, 2017. Junqueras is charged with the Medieval crime of “rebellion”.

After a year of investigations, the prosecutor presented the request for sentences, ranging from 25 years for former Catalan vice president to 16 for five former “advisors”: Jordi Turull, Raul Romeva, Joaquim Forn, Dolors Bassa and Josep Rull.

For the leaders of Omnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, the prosecution requests 17 years in jail and a 17-year ban on holding public office, similar punishment is proposed for the former Catalan Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell.

All are charged with “rebellion“, a crime that carries a 30-year maximum sentence. For the three advisers who are not in detention – Carles Mundó, Maritxell Borrás and Santiago Vila – the requested sentence is limited to 7 years, since they are accused only of embezzlement. </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 (Reuters) - Spain’s public prosecutor on Friday sought jail terms of up to 25 years for nine leaders of Catalonia’s independence movement, filing charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds over a failed secession bid that they spearheaded last year.

But the State Attorney - a separate government-appointed body also prosecuting in the case - said rebellion charges should be dropped in favor of the lesser offence of sedition and that it would seek maximum sentences of 12 years.

Madrid imposed direct rule on the wealthy northeastern region in October 2017 after it declared its independence on the basis of a referendum that Spanish courts ruled was unconstitutional.

The nine politicians were jailed without bail for their role in that campaign and remain in custody pending trail.

The prosecutor is also seeking lesser charges for another nine others accused of involvement in the campaign who have not been jailed ahead of the trial.

The prosecutor sought 25 years in jail for Oriol Junqueras, the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC, it said in a statement.

It recommended sentences of up to 17 years on the same charges for the other eight Catalan politicians.

The leaders’ defense team must present its case in the next few weeks and the trial is expected to begin in January.

There was no immediate comment from the Catalan regional government. Its head Quim Torra will address the media on Friday afternoon. </s> MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s State Attorney dropped a call for rebellion charges to be brought against jailed Catalan independence leaders on Friday, and said it would seek lesser charges of sedition and misappropriation of funds.

Earlier, the Spanish prosecutor said it would seek rebellion charges for all nine jailed leaders, with a maximum sentence of 25 years for the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC Oriol Junqueras.

The State Attorney said it would seek up to 12 years for Junqueras and lesser sentences for the others accused. </s> Thirteen Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive president Carles Puigdemont, have been charged with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain.

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

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. </s> Spanish prosecutors are requesting that former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras be imprisoned for 25 years for rebellion and misappropriation of public funds, the highest prison term being sought for separatist leaders who pushed for Catalan independence last year.

The formal indictment of 18 politicians and activists issued Friday by Spain's public prosecutor's office accuses Junqueras of being the main promoter of an illegal Catalan independence referendum.

The banned vote in the northeastern Catalonia region caused Spain's gravest political crisis in four decades of democracy.

A Spanish Supreme Court probe into the turbulent events was wrapped up last month and the trial is expected to begin in early 2019.

Seven politicians, including Junqueras, and two civil society activists are already in pre-trial custody in Catalan prisons. </s> German prosecutors have asked a court to permit the extradition of former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain.

Prosecutors in the northern town of Schleswig said on Tuesday they have submitted a request to the regional court following “intensive examination” of the European arrest warrant issued by Spain.

Puigdemont has been detained in Germany since 25 March. Spain accuses the 55-year-old of rebellion in organising an unauthorised referendum.

The Schleswig court is likely to take several days to decide whether to extradite Puigdemont.

His lawyers have urged the German government to intervene in the case, citing the “political dimension.”
Former major of the Mossos d'Esquadra Josep Lluís Trapero is charged with two counts of sedition and one of criminal organisation.