The Catalan crisis was sparked by a disputed referendum held in the region in October, which had been barred by the Spanish courts.
According to Catalan officials, the independence campaign won 92% of the vote, from a turnout of 43%. Many of those who were against independence did not cast votes, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the referendum.
Spain’s government responded to the referendum by dissolving the Catalan parliament, imposing direct rule, and calling a snap regional election on December 21.
Since the crackdown by Madrid, Catalonia’s sacked President Carles Puigdemont has gone into self-imposed exile in Belgium, and his top allies have been prosecuted.
Spain has issued European Arrest Warrants (EAW) for ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and four of his allies who went to Belgium.
The five failed to attend a high court hearing in Madrid on November 2 when nine other ex-members of the regional government were taken into custody.
One of those detained has been freed on bail of €50,000 ($58,000).
They all face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for pursuing Catalan independence.
Carles Puigdemont has said he will not return to Spain unless he receives guarantees of a fair trial.
Belgium will “study” the warrant, a spokesman for the state prosecutor told AFP.
The regional parliament in Catalonia voted to proclaim an independent republic on October 27, following an illegal referendum on independence organized by the Catalan government on October 1.
No other country recognized the move and Spain’s central government moved swiftly to impose control, using emergency powers under the constitution.
Carles Puigdemont was the president of the autonomous region of Catalonia until the proclamation of independence and continues to regard himself as the president of the newly proclaimed “Republic of Catalonia”.
The ousted and his colleagues travelled to Belgium to raise their case for statehood at the EU institutions and he insists he is not trying to evade “real justice”.
During an interview with Belgian TV, aired on November 3, Carles Puigdemont that he would co-operate with Belgian judicial authorities.
He also said that he was ready to run in snap regional elections in Catalonia next month.
The other four warrants are for: ex-agriculture minister Meritxell Serret, ex-health minister Antoni Comín, ex-culture minister Lluís Puig and ex-education minister Clara Ponsatí.
The warrants were sent to Belgian prosecutors, who have 24 hours to decide whether the paperwork is correct.
If they do, they will forward them on to a judge who will decide whether Carles Puigdemont and the four others should be arrested.
Belgium has a maximum of 60 days to return the suspects to Spain after arrest. However, if the suspects do not raise legal objections, a transfer could happen much sooner.
A country can reject an EU arrest warrant if it fears that extradition would violate the suspect’s human rights.
Discrimination based on politics, religion or race is grounds for refusal. So are fears that the suspect would not get a fair trial.
There is an agreed EU list of 32 offences – in Article Two of the EAW law – for which there is no requirement for the offence to be a crime in both countries. In other words, any of those offences can be a justification for extradition, provided the penalty is at least three years in jail.
However, neither “sedition” nor “rebellion” – two of the Spanish accusations against the Catalan leaders – are on that list.
Thousands of Catalans have taken the streets of Barcelona to protest against the detention of eight regional ministers sacked over Catalonia’s push for independence from Spain.
The eight officials – who appeared in Spain’s high court – are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
Prosecutors are also seeking a European Arrest Warrant for ousted Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont, who did not show up in court and is now in Belgium.
The request also covers four other ex-ministers who ignored the summons.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since a referendum on independence from Spain was held in Catalonia on October 1 in defiance of a constitutional court ruling that had declared it illegal.
Last week, Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving the regional parliament and calling local elections for December 21.
This came after Catalonia’s parliament voted to declare the independence of the affluent north-eastern region.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90% were in favor of independence.
On November 2, thousands of people gathered outside Catalonia’s regional parliament in Barcelona.
Many carried Catalan flags and slogans that read “Freedom for political prisoners”.
Similar protest rallies were held in other Catalan towns.
Political parties and civic groups in the affluent north-eastern region also condemned the judicial move.
Nine out of 14 summoned Catalan ex-ministers appeared before Judge Carmen Lamela.
The judge said they had to be detained because they might otherwise leave the country or destroy evidence.
Those who were held are: ex-Deputy Vice-President Oriol Junqueras, ex-Interior Minister Joaquim Forn, ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Raül Romeva, ex-Justice Minister Carles Mundó, ex-Labour Minister Dolors Bassa, ex-Government Presidency Councillor Jordi Turull, ex-Sustainable Development Minister Josep Rull and ex-Culture Minister Meritxell Borras.
The ninth official, ex-Business Minister Santi Vila, was granted bail at the request of prosecutors. He quit before the Catalan parliament voted for independence on October 27.
In addition to Carles Puigdemont, prosecutors have asked Spain’s high court judge to issue European arrest warrants for the following Catalan officials: ex-Agriculture Minister Meritxell Serret, Ex-Health Minister Antoni Comín, ex-Culture Minister Lluís Puig, Ex-Education Minister Clara Ponsatí.
Five other senior members of the Catalan parliament, as well as Speaker Carme Forcadell, are facing the same charges but, because of their parliamentary immunity, their cases are being handled by the Supreme Court.
Their hearings have been postponed until November 9.
In a statement broadcast on Catalan TV from an undisclosed location in Belgium, Carles Puigdemont described the detentions as “an act that breaks with the basic principles of democracy”.
“I demand the release of the ministers and the vice-president,” he added.
Carles Puigdemont, who was spotted in a Brussels cafe on November 2, has said he will not return to Spain unless he receives guarantees of a fair trial. He did not specify his exact demands.
According to Efe news agency, Belgium’s federal prosecutor has said the law will be applied once an arrest warrant is received.
Carles Puigdemont’s lawyer said the climate was “not good” for him to appear in court, but he also said his client would co-operate with the authorities in Spain and Belgium.
Eight dismissed members of Catalonia’s regional government are facing jail over their role in October’s disputed independence referendum, Madrid prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, nine Catalan officials testified at Spain’s high court over accusations of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
Ousted Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont and four others disregarded a summons.
Carles Puigdemont, who is in Belgium, said the trial was “political”.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since the referendum was held on October 1 in defiance of a constitutional court ruling that had declared it illegal.
Last week, Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving the regional parliament and calling snap local elections for December 21.
This came after Catalan lawmakers voted to declare independence of the north-eastern region.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90% were in favor of independence.
Prosecutors asked the high court judge to jail eight of the nine members who turned up for questioning.
Those included dismissed deputy leader Oriol Junqueras, Interior Minister Joaquin Forn, foreign affairs chief Raül Romeva and spokesman Jordi Turull.
The ninth, Catalonia’s former business minister Santi Vila, should be granted a €50,000 ($58,000) bail, prosecutors said. He resigned before the Catalan parliament voted for independence on October 27.
The Catalan leaders are yet to be formally charged. They were accused of rebellion – which carries a maximum 30-year jail term – as well as sedition and misuse of funds.
A judge will decide whether the officials should go to jail, pending an investigation that could potentially lead to a trial.
The judge can also grant them conditional bail and order them to surrender their passports.
Five dismissed Catalan officials stayed in Brussels, including Carles Puigdemont, who had previously said he would not return to Spain if he and his colleagues did not receive unspecified guarantees of a fair trial.
Reports suggest some of them requested to appear before the judges via video conference.
Carles Puigdemont’s Belgian lawyer told Reuters that he would co-operate with the authorities in Spain and Belgium, but did not appear before the judges because “the climate is not good”.
The dismissed leader’s handling of the crisis has drawn criticism among some other Catalan politicians, with left-wing parliamentary deputy Joan Josep Nuet criticizing him for creating “yet more bewilderment”.
Meanwhile, five other senior members of the Catalan parliament, as well as speaker Carme Forcadell, are facing the same charges but, because of their parliamentary immunity, their cases are being handled by the Supreme Court.
Their hearings have been postponed until November 9.
If those Catalan politicians appearing in court are denied bail it will cause further anger among those who want Catalonia to break away.
The court summons also gave them three days to pay a deposit of €6.2 million ($7.2 million) to cover potential liabilities.
Spain’s central government has said it would welcome the participation of sacked Catalan President Carles Puigdemont in new elections.
Madrid has ordered that fresh elections for the regional parliament of Catalonia should take place in December.
The central government suspended Catalonia’s autonomy after the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence.
Carles Puigdemont is urging “democratic opposition” to direct rule from Madrid.
He condemned the suspension of Catalonia’s autonomy and promised to continue to “work to build a free country”.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since an independence referendum, organized by Carles Puigdemont’s separatist government, was held on October 1 in defiance of a ruling by the Constitutional Court which had declared it illegal.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part, 90% were in favor of independence.
On October 27, Catalonia’s parliament declared independence, with the central government responding by declaring the move illegal.
Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy then announced the dissolution of the regional parliament and the removal of Carles Puigdemont as Catalan leader, and ordered that fresh regional elections should be held.
A large anti-independence demonstration is expected to take place on October 29 in Barcelona, Catalonia’s regional capital.
The political crisis will also be played out on the soccer pitch in the afternoon when Real Madrid, the defending Spanish champions, travel to Catalonia to play Girona, the team supported by Carles Puigdemont.
A central government spokesman in Madrid, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, said Carles Puigdemont had the right to continue in politics, despite his removal from office.
“I’m quite sure that if Puigdemont takes part in these elections, he can exercise this democratic opposition,” Íñigo Méndez de Vigo said, quoted by Reuters.
“The Catalans will be able to say what they feel about what they’ve been seeing in this last year, with all sorts of failing the law, abusing the law and putting themselves outside the law,” the official added.
Íñigo Méndez de Vigo spoke after Carles Puigdemont, in a pre-recorded address to Catalans on October 28, said the central government’s actions were “premeditated aggression” that ran “contrary to the expressed will of the citizens of our country, who know perfectly well that in a democracy it is parliaments that choose, or remove, presidents”.
He added: “We continue persevering in the only attitude that can make us winners. Without violence, without insults, in an inclusive way, respecting people and symbols, opinions, and also respecting the protests of the Catalans who do not agree with what the parliamentary majority has decided.”
A poll published by El Pais on October 28 suggests more Catalans (52% to 43%) are in favor of the dissolution of the regional parliament and the holding of elections.
Fifty-five per cent of Catalan respondents opposed the declaration of independence, with 41% in favor.
Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy has unveiled plans to remove Catalonia’s leaders and take control of the separatist region.
Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting on October 21, PM Mariano Rajoy stopped short of dissolving Catalonia’s parliament but put forward plans for elections in the region.
The measures must now be approved by Spain’s Senate in the next few days.
The plans come almost three weeks after Catalonia held a disputed independence referendum on October 1.
Catalonia’s leader Carles Puigdemont has ignored pleas from the national government to withdraw the independence bid.
Mariano Rajoy said the government had no choice but to push to impose direct rule, arguing that the Catalan government’s actions were “contrary to the law and seeking confrontation”.
This will be via Article 155 of Spain’s constitution, which allows it to impose direct rule in a crisis on any of the country’s semi-autonomous regions.
Spain’s Senate will vote within the week, PM Mariano Rajoy said at a press conference. He said it was “not our wish, it was not our intention” to trigger the article.
Spanish law dictates that elections must be held within six months of Article 155 being triggered, but the prime minister said it was imperative that the vote be held much sooner.
Catalonia’s regional government held a referendum to ask residents of the region if they wanted to break away from Spain.
Of the 43% of Catalans said to have taken part, 90% voted in favor of independence. However, many anti-independence supporters boycotted the ballot, arguing it was not valid.
Carles Puigdemont and other regional leaders then signed a declaration of independence, but immediately suspended it in order to allow for talks.
He then defied two deadlines set by the national government to clarify Catalonia’s position, and the government announced it would pursue Article 155.
Article 155 of the Spanish constitution allows the national government to impose direct rule over Spain’s semi-autonomous regions in the event of a crisis. It has never before been invoked in democratic Spain.
The article says that if a region’s government “acts in a way that seriously threatens the general interest of Spain”, Madrid can “take necessary measures to oblige it forcibly to comply”.
Catalonia currently enjoys significant autonomy from Spain, including control over its own policing, education and healthcare.
Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party (PP) holds a majority in the Senate, meaning the proposals are likely to pass.
Catalonia accounts for about a fifth of Spain’s economic output, and supporters of independence say the region contributes too much to the national economy.
Opponents argue that Catalonia is stronger as a part of Spain, and that breaking away would lead to economic disaster for the country as a whole.
Nearly 1,200 companies based in Catalonia have re-registered in other parts of Spain since the referendum, hoping to minimize instability, according to the AFP.
This week, Spain cut its national growth forecast for 2018 from 2.6% to 2.3%, blaming uncertainty over the future of Catalan independence.
Spain is prepared to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy on October 21, as its leader, Carles Puigdemont, threatened to declare independence.
The government said ministers would meet to activate Article 155 of the constitution, allowing it to take over running of the region.
Carles Puigdemont said earlier the Catalan parliament would vote on independence, backed in a disputed referendum on October 1, if Spain “continues repression”.
Some fear the moves could spark unrest.
The government statement said: “The Spanish government will continue with the procedures outlined in Article 155 of the Constitution to restore legality in Catalonia’s self-government.
“It denounces the attitude maintained by those in charge of the Generalitat [Catalan government] to seek, deliberately and systematically, institutional confrontation despite the serious damage that is being caused to the coexistence and the economic structure of Catalonia.
“No-one doubts that the Spanish government will do all it can to restore the constitutional order.”
Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 constitution, which cemented democratic rule after the death of General Franco three years earlier, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked.
Political leaders in Madrid and Barcelona, Catalonia’s capital, have been engaged in a tense stand-off since the disputed referendum, which Catalan leaders say resulted in a “Yes” vote for independence but which Spain’s supreme court regards as illegal.
Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy set the deadline of 10:00 local time for Carles Puigdemont to offer a definitive answer on the independence question, and called on him to “act sensibly”.
The prime minister said in parliament on October 18: “It’s not that difficult to reply to the question: has Catalonia declared independence? Because if it has, the government is obliged to act in one way, and if it has not, we can talk here.”
This was the second and final deadline, as Madrid says Carles Puigdemont on October 16 failed to clarify whether he had declared independence.
PM Mariano Rajoy is due to attend an EU summit in Brussels on October 19.
On October 21, the government will be expected to draw up a list of specific measures under Article 155 of the constitution, launching the transfer of powers from Catalonia to Madrid.
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