Spain starts trial of Catalan separatists

MADRID: Twelve Catalan secessionist leaders went on trial in Spain’s high court yesterday, charged for their role in a failed independence bid 16 months ago that deeply divided the country and triggered the biggest political crisis in decades. The defendants, facing charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, will not speak in court on the first day of the trial, which is reserved for procedural issues. Nine of the defendants have been jailed without bail since late 2017 and early 2018.