Spanish judge orders custody for Catalan leaders pending trial

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Spanish judge orders custody for Catalan leaders pending trial

By Raquel Castillo and Rodrigo De Miguel

 

Dismissed Catalan cabinet members arrive at Spain's High Court after being summoned to testify on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for defying the central government by holding a referendum on secession and proclaiming independence, in Madrid, Spain, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho

 

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge ordered nine Catalan secessionist leaders to be held in custody on Thursday pending a potential trial over the region's independence push.

 

The lawyer for ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said a warrant had also been issued for his client's arrest - though the statement was dismissed by a senior official in Spain's High Court. The reason for the differing accounts was not immediately clear.

 

In an short address broadcast by Catalan regional television TV3, Puigdemont called for the release of "the legitimate government of Catalonia", a call echoed by hundreds of people gathered outside the Catalan parliament.

 

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sacked Puigdemont and his government last week, hours after the Catalan parliament made a unilateral declaration of independence - a vote boycotted by the opposition and declared illegal by Spanish courts.

 

Puigdemont later travelled to Belgium with four associates and ignored an order to appear before the High Court to answer charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds relating to the region's secessionist drive.

 

"Mr. Puigdemont will stay here. He has said that he will fully cooperate with Belgian authorities during the procedure," lawyer Paul Bekaert told Belgian state broadcaster VRT.

 

He said Puigdemont had told him a European arrest warrant has been issued, though the court source said that would most likely happen on Friday.

 

The detention of the secessionist leaders and Puigdemont's flight to Belgium make it difficult for leading figures from the independence movement to stand in a snap election in the wealthy region called by the Spanish government for Dec. 21.

 

Puigdemont said on Tuesday he would go back to Spain only if given unspecified guarantees by the Spanish government. His flight appears to have cost some support for his cause at home.

 

"President, enough is enough," the influential Catalan newspaper el Peridico, which has been sceptical of the case for independence, said on its front page on Wednesday.

 

Ebelio Ramos, a pensioner from the pro-independence town of Berga said: "I don't know what they're thinking about but when someone does what he did and declares independence and then flees... A president has to fulfil the law and if he doesn't, it is better that he stays calm, because if he starts doing something outside the law, he is going to lose everything."

 

"CAREFULLY DESIGNED SECESSIONIST PROCESS"

 

Following a tumultuous month, attention is gradually turning to the December vote. Protests taking place in central Barcelona on Thursday to support secessionist leaders as they testified in Madrid failed to attract a big crowd.

 

Several hundred people took part in another protest called after the nine leaders were ordered held in custody, many fewer than the hundreds of thousands who staged several demonstrations for independence over the last two months.

 

Cracks have appeared within the pro-independence coalition of centre-right and far-left parties as well as inside Puigdemont's own PdeCat (Democratic Catalan Party) where some of his allies are now pushing for a negotiated solution with the central government.

 

The struggle has divided Catalonia itself and caused deep resentment across the rest of Spain.

 

In Madrid, 20 secessionist leaders had been summoned by two separate courts to testify over their role in holding a banned Oct. 1 referendum on secession and later proclaiming independence from Spain. With Puigdemont and four others in Belgium, only 15 turned up.

 

All the members of the dismissed Catalan cabinet but one declined to answer questions from the state prosecutor and the High Court judge, who opened an investigation that could take several years before any potential trial.

 

"The defendants have played an active role by propelling the carefully designed secessionist process and overcoming all kinds of obstacles that could make them deviate from their final objective," the judge said in the ruling that sent the defendants to jail.

 

She said the defendants, who could face jail sentences of up to 50 years, must be held in custody because they were a flight risk and could destroy evidence.

 

One of them, Santi Vila, who stepped down from the Catalan cabinet before a unilateral declaration of independence last Friday and has since then been pushing for a negotiated solution with the government, was granted bail of 50,000 euros (44,633.29 pounds).

 

A lawyer for several of the jailed Catalan leaders said they would appeal against the judge's decision.

 

"The decision to hold them in custody is absolutely disproportionate as we consider the charges of rebellion and sedition lack any ground, no matter how much the prosecution insists on affirming it," lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas said.

 

Five senior regional lawmakers and the speaker of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, were summoned by the Supreme Court, which handles the cases of people who enjoy parliamentary immunity.

 

The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to give one more week to Forcadell and the Catalan lawmakers to prepare their defence and a new hearing will take place on Nov. 9.

 

The courts have already told the Catalan secessionist leaders to deposit 6.2 million euros ($7.2 million) by Friday to cover potential liabilities.

 

(Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; Writing by Julien Toyer; Editing by Ralph Boulton, Peter Graff and Andrew Heavens)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-03

 

[lamecn]

Cool! Ask for freedom and you'll end up in jail!

[Grouse]

Just when things were going so well, this judge remands these people in custody. Now the system here is inquisitorial and it is normal to lock people up while the prosecutor collects evidence (they don't want the accused interfering).

 

In this case this is over zealous IMHO. I suspect they will be pardoned anyway. 

 

If not, EU machinery should be brought in: the EJC (or ECHR)

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system

Edited November 3, 2017 by Grouse

[Grouse]

10 minutes ago, lamecn said:

Cool! Ask for freedom and you'll end up in jail!

Facile

 

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, lamecn said:

Cool! Ask for freedom and you'll end up in jail!

 

No - break the law, be charged with breaking the law, appear in court whilst some of your "leaders" do a runner - get denied bail as a flight risk ................ and end up in jail.

 

Treason, sedition and rebellion are considered serious in most countries.

 

Actually, they don't want freedom. They want to impose their minority view on the majority. There idea of democracy is their vision, not anyone else.

Edited November 3, 2017 by Baerboxer

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, Grouse said:

Just when things were going so well, this judge remands these people in custody. Now the system here is inquisitorial and it is normal to lock people up while the prosecutor collects evidence (they don't want the accused interfering).

 

In this case this is over zealous IMHO. I suspect they will be pardoned anyway. 

 

If not, EU machinery should be brought in: the EJC (or ECHR)

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system

 

Seeing as 'el Presidente" and some others did a runner and refused to turn up, then it's hardly surprising they were remanded in custody.

 

Politicians who break laws are not immune to the workings of the justice system and heaven forbid they ever are.

 

As for the "leader" - what does he consider fair trial - one that simply lets him off.

 

Imprisoning people for their political views and expressing those views is wrong. Defying the courts and breaking the law, for a political agenda or personal gain, is also wrong.

 

Seems many can't tell the difference between right and wrong.

[RuamRudy]

55 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

No - break the law, be charged with breaking the law, appear in court whilst some of your "leaders" do a runner - get denied bail as a flight risk ................ and end up in jail.

 

Treason, sedition and rebellion are considered serious in most countries.

 

Actually, they don't want freedom. They want to impose their minority view on the majority. There idea of democracy is their vision, not anyone else.

Their idea of democracy was to hold a referendum to show clearly the will of the people. That the law forbade the exercise is irrelevant. Madrid's response to this exercise in democracy was to smash up Catalan premises and assault pensioners. 

[RuamRudy]

53 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Seeing as 'el Presidente" and some others did a runner and refused to turn up, then it's hardly surprising they were remanded in custody.

 

Politicians who break laws are not immune to the workings of the justice system and heaven forbid they ever are.

 

As for the "leader" - what does he consider fair trial - one that simply lets him off.

 

Imprisoning people for their political views and expressing those views is wrong. Defying the courts and breaking the law, for a political agenda or personal gain, is also wrong.

 

Seems many can't tell the difference between right and wrong.

I think I have asked you this before but I do not recall an answer from you - do you believe that Gandhi should have been punished for inspiring the Indian people to break the law and harvest salt? 

[vogie]

19 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

I think I have asked you this before but I do not recall an answer from you - do you believe that Gandhi should have been punished for inspiring the Indian people to break the law and harvest salt? 

No he shouldn't and neither should Geoffrey Boycott when he declares independence for Yorkshire.

Edited November 3, 2017 by vogie

[RuamRudy]

12 minutes ago, vogie said:

No he shouldn't and neither should Geoffrey Boycott when he declares independence for Yorkshire.

I look forward to giving him my full support!

[vogie]

2 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

I look forward to giving him my full support!

A dunt dowt that f one minit. ?

Edited November 3, 2017 by vogie

[Caps]

Maybe May should do the same to Sturgeon and all her cronnies 

[RuamRudy]

4 minutes ago, Caps said:

Maybe May should do the same to Sturgeon and all her cronnies 

Maybe? This has been a UK tactic for decades, and more than just tying them up in kafkaesque legalese. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_MacRae

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/files-prove-that-mi5-spied-on-snp-1-1423283

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snoopgate-scandal-brit-spooks-spying-6127095

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by RuamRudy

[Caps]

1 minute ago, RuamRudy said:

Maybe? This has been a UK tactic for decades, and more than just tying them up in kafkaesque legalese. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_MacRae

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/files-prove-that-mi5-spied-on-snp-1-1423283

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snoopgate-scandal-brit-spooks-spying-6127095

 

to be fair, i aint interested hense the laugh at the end

[Tarteso]

2000 companies and the most important banks have left Catalonia, the economy begin to suffer the consequences.

We are spending time.

The leader of the band is already outlawed. Hope see this chicken with fringes, soon in the jail.

Edited November 3, 2017 by Tarteso