Separatists in the dock

THE politically charged trial of a dozen Catalan separatist leaders began in the Supreme Court on Tuesday,

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.

Tensions between regional and central authorities peaked with the 2017 breakaway attempt but the conflict has been festering ever since.

The 7.5 million residents of Catalonia remain divided by the secession question.

In Barcelona, thousands marched to a central square on Tuesday, demanding independence and criticising Spain's judiciary.

Some carried signs with the slogan, Self-determination Is Not A Crime.

Earlier, pro-independence activists briefly blocked highways and the entrance to the state prosecutor's office before they were cleared by the regional police without incident.

In Madrid, right-wing protesters carrying national flags shouted as lawyers and three defendants who were free on bail entered the Supreme Court.

Former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras began giving evidence yesterday (Thursday) and the regional parliament's former Speaker Carme Forcadell and the other 10 defendants will follow today and next week.

They sit on four benches in the middle of the courtroom facing a seven-judge panel headed by Supreme Court magistrate Manuel Marchena, who presided.

Catalan President Quim Torra, a fervent separatist who has had to apologise for anti-Spanish comments, followed the proceedings from the back of the courtroom, where 100 seats were reserved for defendants' relatives, journalists and members of the public who lined up for hours to get one of the limited spots.

Mr Torra later called the trial a "farce" and said any guilty verdicts would be appealed against to European courts.

"No court can put Catalan democracy on trial," Mr Torra said.

"This case will end up in European and international courts, and we will win it."

Among those not on trial is Carles Puigdemont, Torra's predecessor who fled Spain.

He called for the 12 separatists to be absolved for their alleged crimes and called the trial ‘a stress test for the Spanish democracy’.

Mr Puigdemont successfully avoided extradition to Spain when a German court refused to send him back on charges of rebellion last year.

Since then, he has campaigned in Europe for the Catalans to be able to settle their links to Spain in a vote.

Mr Junqueras, Mr Puigdemont's number two at the time, faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of rebellion, while others charged with sedition or misuse of public funds could get shorter sentences if convicted.

The proceedings are being broadcast live on television in a display of transparency that aims to fight the separatists' attack on the court's credibility.

Spanish authorities dismissed the notion that the trial is political and say it follows the European Union's highest standards.

Proceedings are likely to last at least three months and the verdicts, and any sentences, will be delivered months later.