Spanish Attorney General Jose Manuel Maza yesterday said that he would seek charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement against members of Catalonia’s ousted secessionist government, pushing the crisis over the region’s independence declaration into an uncertain new phase.
Maza said he would ask judges for preventive measures against the politicians and the governing body of the Catalan parliament that allowed a vote to declare independence last week.
He did not specify if those would include their immediate arrest and detention before trial.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The rebellion, sedition and embezzlement charges carry maximum sentences of 30, 15 and six years in prison respectively. It was not immediately clear when judges would rule on the prosecutors’ request.
Maza did not name any of those facing charges, but they include Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont, Catalonian vice president Oriol Junqueras and Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell.
The announcement came as Catalonia’s civil servants returned to work for the first time since Spain dismissed the separatist regional government and imposed direct control.
Speculation raged about the whereabouts of Puigdemont, as Catalans watched and wondered whether the ousted leaders would defy their firing and face even more possible criminal charges.
However, later in the day the afternoon newspaperLa Vanguardia reported that Puigdemont and other sacked members of the region’s government are in Brussels, where they were to make a declaration later in the day.
A Spanish official confirmed the report on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be named in the media.
The trip has not been confirmed by Puigdemont’s aides.
Earlier in the day, Puigdemont had posted a photograph on Instagram of a courtyard at the building with the Catalan and Spanish national flags on top of the building.
The ambiguous Instagram post, accompanied by the words “Good morning” in Catalan and a smiley emoticon, left many guessing whether Puigdemont was inside the building.
As dozens of journalists, curious onlookers and bemused tourists gathered in the square outside the Gothic government palace in central Barcelona, residents expressed confusion about who was actually in charge of Catalonia.
“What I really think is that nobody is in charge right now,”’ said Cristina Guillen, an employee in a nearby bag shop.
Additional reporting by AFP
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