Spain to try Catalan leaders for rebellion

Madrid, March 23 

Twenty-five Catalan leaders will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobeying the state, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday, in a sharp escalation of legal action against separatists in the northeastern region.

One of the leaders facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted, Marta Rovira, earlier said she had already fled Spain, joining six others in exile. The ruling raised the stakes in Madrid’s efforts to contain separatists in Catalonia, where a banned referendum backed independence last year.

The case will be closely watched by separatist groups across Europe and beyond. Rights groups have already criticised the extent of Madrid’s crackdown, though the European Union, wary of any splintering of its member states, has firmly supported the Spanish government’s response.

Catalonia has been in political limbo since Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took over its regional government after it unilaterally declared independence following  October plebiscite.

Supreme court judge Pablo Llarena said on Friday thirteen leaders, including Rovira and former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont who is already in exile in Brussels, will be tried for rebellion.

Another twelve will be tried for embezzlement or disobeying the state through their role in holding the referendum or declaring independence. Puigdemont and fellow separatists have all denied any wrongdoing, saying the plebiscite gave them the authority to break away from Spain.

The vote was boycotted Catalans opposed to the region splitting from Spain. Public support for the independence of Catalonia, which has its own language, extensive devolved powers and an economy as large as Portugal’s, fluctuates either side of 40 percent in polls.

Judge Llarena will rule later on Friday on whether there is enough evidence that they committed a crime to order their arrest. He did not set a date for the trial. — Reuters