Trial of Catalan separatist leaders begins

A politically charged trial of a dozen Catalan separatist leaders began yesterday in Spain’s Supreme Court amid protests and the possibility of an early general election being called.

The defendants are being tried on rebellion and other charges stemming from their roles in pushing ahead with a unilateral independence declaration in October 2017. The declaration was based on the results of a divisive secession referendum that ignored a constitutional ban

The trial, arguably Spain’s most important in four decades of democracy, started as the future of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government hinged on a last-minute change of position by Catalan pro-independence parties to back his 2019 budget.

Sanchez could be forced to call an early election if the Catalan separatists, whose support brought the Socialists to power last year, don’t change their current position of voting against his spending plan.

The separatists want Sanchez to agree to talks on self-determination for their region, but the government argues that Spain’s constitution does not allow this.

Former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras, the regional parliament’s former speaker and the other 10 defendants face sentences of up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. –AP