TRUTH is stranger than fiction, so the old proverb goes, but it is perhaps more so in Spain where tomorrow we should enter the closing chapter of the Catalan independence trial when 12 political and social leaders will learn their fate as the world watches.

They have been tried for organising an independence referendum in the autonomous region of Catalonia against the wishes of the Spanish government.

Two of them, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who are independence-supporting civic leaders, have been in so-called “preventative detention” for two years, while seven, including former vice-president Oriol Junqueras and several of his colleagues, have been held for a shorter period.

READ MORE: Catalan independence: Tension as leaders await trial verdicts

The tale started on October 1 two years ago, when the Catalan government, then led by Carles Puigdemont, held a referendum on independence which Spanish authorities had declared illegal.

The National: Carles PuigdemontCarles Puigdemont

Thousands of Spain’s National Police Corps (CNP) and Guardia Civil officers were drafted into the prosperous north-eastern region and billeted in three ferries in Barcelona and Tarragona, one of which was festooned with cartoon characters which did little to disguise their sinister intent.

They were part of then prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s crackdown on the indy lobby, which for him had become embarrassingly vocal.

Raids had been carried out the month before on media offices, Catalan government buildings and political and other campaign offices in a hunt for any material related to the banned referendum.

But despite this the referendum went ahead amid scenes that shocked the world as the Spanish officers clad in protective armour, helmets and visors, minus any identifying numbers or names, ruthlessly beat voters with riot batons and fired rubber bullets at them. Many were tossed about like rag dolls, thrown down stairs and trampled upon as they cowered on the ground trying to protect themselves. Social media was awash with footage of the atrocities which saw almost 1000 people injured – one of whom lost an eye when he was hit by a rubber bullet.

Police had been told to stop the referendum and they tried to smash their way into schools which were being used as polling stations, through crowds of people who stood, passively resistant, as their carnage continued.

Voters who managed to find a polling station and cast their ballot were asked a Yes/No question: “Do you want Catalonia to become an independend state in the form of a republic?”

One man who remembers the day well is Mike Thom, who is originally from Edinburgh but who has lived in Barcelona for many years with his wife Kirsty and three children.

They had attended a wedding in the republican-leaning Terra Alta region the day before, and described the referendum day mood as “euphoric”.

“We drove back to Barcelona on the Sunday morning to be greeted by a convoy of Guardia Civil 4x4s heading south,” said Thom. “Later we heard of provocation of voters in Tarragona.”

In the afternoon, once they put their car into their garage close to the centre of Barcelona, they came across a huge crowd outside the Maragall Institute, a high school.

“Many in the crowd were neighbours, friends and parents of kids from our school and were generally apprehensive about possible interference from Policia Nacional or Guardia Civil forces, as there had been various attacks on peaceful civilians throughout the day, notably very close by at Pau Claris, where there had been injuries,” said Thom.

“An everlasting memory I will have is when I went home and changed back into the kilt to return to the school. I remember the crowd parting and a voice say ‘mira, un escoces’. The mood changed to more relaxed as word came that attacks appeared to have abated.”

Thom cast his vote at the Maragall, one of the polling stations whose ballots were not confiscated by police and made it to the count.

Turnout was reported as 43.03%, perhaps not the highest but remarkable under the circumstances.

Victory – albeit short-lived – went to the Yes side which polled 2,044,038 votes, just over 92%, compared to 177,547, or just under 8% for No. The pro-independence majority in the Catalan Parliament subsequently adopted a resolution founding the independent Catalan Republic and days later signed a declaration of the same.

However, it came to nothing after counsel told the parliament it could not take place as the law on which the motion was founded had been suspended by Spain.

Rajoy dismissed Puigdemont, dissolved his government and called fresh elections – a move that later backfired – as Puigdemont and some of his cabinet fled to Belgium after being accused of rebellion, sedition and the misuse of public funds.

While they went into self-imposed exile, their colleagues in Catalonia were less fortunate and in the ensuing months saw themselves sent to jail in “preventative detention”.

Junqueras was imprisoned, along with parliament speaker Carme Forcadell and ministers Joaquim Forn, Jordi Turull, Raul Romeva, Dolors Bassa and Josep Rull.

Their trial has been a subject of constant criticism since before it started, particularly the decision by Spain to try them in the country’s supreme court, thereby cutting out any avenue of appeal.

The National: Oriol Junqueras was sent to prisonOriol Junqueras was sent to prison

Just days ago, the Catalan state broadcaster TV3 and Catalunya Radio was told not to use the phrase “political prisoners” to describe the accused in the independence case, nor “exiles” to describe Puigdemont and ex-ministers Tony Comin, in Belgium, or Clara Ponsati, who is exiled in Scotland.

PRESIDING judge Manuel Marchena, no friend of the independence movement, had his colleagues in a secretive huddle for most of the past week as he tried to ensure they presented a united front when the verdicts are delivered tomorrow.

The sentences were said to be the only boxes unticked, to avoid the possibility of any leak.

Spanish authorities are, however, good at leaking when it suits them and on Friday the government-friendly daily El Pais revealed that the charges of rebellion against the indy leaders had been dismissed.

This was the most serious charge they faced with a maximum sentence of 25 years. To achieve a conviction for this “uprising against constitutional order”, it has to be proved that violence was used, but the Catalan action throughout this lengthy ordeal has been peaceful, almost docile in nature.

The slightly lesser charge of sedition remains and could be simpler to convict as it is identical to rebellion with the exception that proof of violence is not required.

One Catalan source said yesterday that removing rebellion was proof that the Scottish, German and Belgian courts had “got it right” when they refused European warrants to extradite the exiles.

They added: “Without rebellion, clearly no-one should have been locked up in custody for two years awaiting trial.”

However, this is Spain and truth is stranger than fiction.