The Spanish Supreme Court yesterday convicted 12 Catalan politicians and activists for their roles in a secession bid in 2017, a ruling that immediately inflamed independence supporters in the wealthy northeastern region.
The court sentenced former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras to 13 years for sedition and misuse of public funds, following one of Spain’s most important trials since democracy was restored after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
Eight others also received lengthy prison terms in Catalonia’s attempt to break away from Spain following an illegal independence referendum, while three received lesser sentences.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Junqueras said the verdict wanted to “destroy lives.”
“But above all, they have shown one thing, that we Catalans do not have an alternative,” he wrote in a letter published by his Republic Left party. “Independence is today closer than ever before.”
Although prosecutors had requested convictions for the more severe crime of rebellion, which under Spanish law implies the use of violence to subvert the constitutional order, judges convicted nine defendants of sedition, implying that they promoted public disorder to subvert the law.
Junqueras and three other former Cabinet members — Raul Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa, who were sentenced to 12 years — were also convicted for misuse of public funds.
Former Catalan parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell was given 11-and-a-half years in prison; former Cabinet members Joaquim Forn and Josep Rull 10-and-a-half years each; and grassroots pro-independence activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart nine years each.
Three other former members of the Catalan Cabinet — Santiago Vila, Meritxell Borras and Carles Mundo — were fined for disobedience.
All of them have been barred from public office.
Reacting to the verdict, hundreds of students and civil servants immediately protested in different parts of Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona.
Grassroots pro-secession groups had warned that if any of the defendants were found guilty they would organize protests and “peaceful civil disobedience.”
Spanish authorities have deployed hundreds of extra police to the region.
“Today, they have violated all their rights. It is horrible that Europe doesn’t act,” 60-year-old civil servant Deni Saball said while protesting in the street. “I don’t want to be European. I don’t want to be Spanish.”
The court’s decision was another milestone in the long struggle for separatists who want Catalonia to break away from Spain and create a new European state. Spain insists it will not allow it.
The Spanish constitution says the country cannot be divided.
The separatist effort fell flat when it won no international recognition. The Spanish government stepped in and fired the Catalan regional government, with prosecutors later bringing charges.
At the center of the prosecutors’ case was the Oct. 1, 2017, independence referendum that the Catalan government held even though the country’s highest court had disallowed it.
The “Yes” vote won, but because it was an illegal ballot, most voters did not turn out and the vote count was considered of dubious value. However, the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence three weeks later, triggering Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
Seven separatist leaders allegedly involved in the events, including ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, fled the country and are regarded by Spain as fugitives.
“A total of 100 years of prison. How horrible,” Puigdemont tweeted yesterday. “Now more than ever, we will be with you and your families. For the future of our sons and daughters. For democracy. For Europe. For Catalonia.”
The trial featured more than 500 witnesses, including former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and 50 nationally televised hearings.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the