CATALONIA’s push for independence has been branded a “a coup d’état” in the prosecution’s closing arguments of the trial of 12 political leaders in Spain’s Supreme Court.
“We have to call things by their proper name,” said prosecutor Javier Zaragoza. “What happened between March 2015 and October 2017 in Catalonia ... was a coup d’état ... and that is what the accused were aiming for.
“It was a serious attack on the foundations of the constitution with illegal, coercive methods, using violence when needed.”
READ MORE: Catalan trial: UN working group demands release of prisoners
Although his remarks applied to all the accused, Zaragoza singled out the former vice-president Oriol Junqueras: “I believe Junqueras is the main driver behind the referendum.”
The Catalan political and civic leaders face lengthy jail terms after they were arrested for arranging the independence referendum and making a unilateral declaration of independence – both ruled illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court.
Following the UDI, Spain’s then-government of the conservative People’s Party (PP) stripped the Catalan Parliament of power before calling an election. Several pro-independence leaders were arrested and have been in custody since, while others – including former president Carles Puigdemont, Clara Ponsati and Toni Comin – fled the country and have remained in exile.
Puigdemont, Comin and Junqueras were elected MEPs in last month’s European elections.
Public prosecutor Jaime Moreno argued that the defendants used violence – a requirement to prove the charge of rebellion – to advance their goals. However, he downplayed the brutal police violence against voters and protesters, describing it as “legitimate” for maintaining the judicial mandate.
“There was violence, it was necessary for their cause, the accused knew the vote would provoke confrontations, and yet they still called people to vote knowing what would happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than 70 Catalan MPs have signed an open letter to the president of the European Parliament calling for the exiled and imprisoned Catalan leaders who won seats in the European elections to be recognised as MEPs.
They warned Antonio Tajani and his vice -residents that the decision to refuse Puigdemont and his former minister Comin entry to the parliament building was a “shameful obstruction of the electoral rules and democratic principles”.
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