Attorney general leading prosecution of Catalan separatists dies suddenly
Spain’s attorney general, José Manuel Maza, who was leading the prosecution of the separatist Catalan leaders, died Saturday while in Argentina to attend an international law conference.
Maza, 66, died in a Buenos Aires hospital, shortly after saying he felt unwell. His death was confirmed by Spain’s justice minister, Rafael Catalá, and attributed to a kidney infection.
The sudden death of Maza deprives Spain of its top prosecutor as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is working to halt a secessionist movement in Catalonia and to get Spain’s judiciary to prosecute separatist leaders for illegally declaring the region’s independence.
Late last month, Maza began prosecution of 20 Catalan politicians, including the region’s former leader, Carles Puigdemont. Maza said they should stand trial for rebellion and sedition, as well as misuse of public funds to organize an independence referendum.
The vote, on Oct. 1, was declared illegal by the Spanish government and courts. If found guilty of rebellion, the separatist leaders could face up to 30 years in prison.
Maza was nominated as attorney general by Rajoy’s government just a year ago. The government will pick a replacement who will undergo parliamentary review in a process expected to take at least three weeks. Until that is completed, Luis Navajas, a prosecutor before the Supreme Court, was expected to act as interim attorney general.
Maza was known as a conservative who put himself on the front line in the fight against Catalan secessionism. In September, he warned Puigdemont in a radio interview that the Catalan leader could be detained if he pushed ahead with his separatist plans.
On Oct. 27, Spain’s government took administrative control of Catalonia, ousting Puigdemont and his regional government, after separatist lawmakers voted for Catalonia’s independence in their regional parliament, in violation of Spain’s Constitution.
Days later, Puigdemont and members of his former Cabinet arrived in Brussels, where they have been fighting an international arrest warrant issued by Spain.