MADRID - 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 the 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.
"A DIFFICULT ROAD"
The vote was boycotted by 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 ordered jail for five of the leaders pending
their trial as he considered there was enough evidence that they
committed a crime. He did not set a date for the trial.
The five appeared before the court today to be notified they
would face trial and were detained immediately.
Among them was Jordi Turull, a close ally to Puigdemont who
was put forward on Thursday to become the next regional
president, although he failed to obtain enough votes after a
small far-left secessionist group broke ranks and abstained.
The court's decision means a second leadership vote for
Turull which was due to take place on Saturday will not happen
because his presence is compulsory.
Rovira, the head of the separatist Esquerra Republicana
party, said before the judge's announcement on Friday she had
fled to avoid prosecution.
"Exile will be a difficult road, but it is the only way I
have to recover my political voice," Rovira said in a letter.
"Long live a Catalan Republic for all!"
The court, in a written ruling, requested that 14 members of
the previous Catalan regional administration deposit 2.1 million
euros ($2.59 million) in a bank account to pay back the money
used to hold the referendum and cover judicial costs.
Several separatist leaders, including former Catalan
vice-president Oriol Junqueras, have been in custody since last
year.