MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s public prosecutor on Friday sought jail terms of up to 25 years on rebellion charges for nine leaders of Catalonia’s independence movement over an illegal secession bid they spearheaded last year.

Dismissed Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras arrives to Spain's High Court after being summoned to testify on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for defying the central government by holding a referendum on secession and proclaiming independence, in Madrid, Spain, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho

The recommendation drew an angry response from the region’s leader, who also dismissed moves by the State Attorney - a separate, government-appointed body prosecuting in the case - to push for the lesser charge of sedition.

Madrid imposed direct rule on the wealthy northeastern region in October 2017 after it declared its independence on the basis of a referendum that Spanish courts ruled was unconstitutional.

The nine Catalan politicians were jailed without bail for their role in that secession drive, which laid bare deep divisions between the region’s pro- and anti-Spain camps, and remain in custody pending their Supreme Court trial.

The prosecutor, which also filed a charge of misuse of public funds against the nine, sought the longest term of 25 years for Oriol Junqueras, the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC.

The State Attorney, which is part of the justice ministry, said it was seeking maximum sentences of 12 years.

Reiterating calls for all charges to be dropped, Catalonia’s pro-secession government head Quim Torra said the pursuit of the campaigners through the courts showed “absolute disdain for imprisoned democrats”.

“Today, the government has missed a golden opportunity to take this conflict out of the courts and return it to a political matter,” he said.

The prosecutor has precedence in the trial, expected to begin in January.

The Attorney’s bid for the lesser charge of sedition coincides with efforts by the Socialist government of Pedro Sanchez to reduce tensions between Madrid and Barcelona. Justice Minister Dolores Delgado said it was acting purely on judicial criteria.

CONCILIATORY APPROACH

While refusing to countenance any move toward Catalan independence, Sanchez has adopted a more conciliatory approach toward the region than his predecessor Mariano Rajoy.

With the Socialists holding only 84 of 350 parliamentary seats, he is also relying on the support of Catalan lawmakers to get his 2019 budget passed through the house.

The ERC’s Junqueras was deputy to the then Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont during the vote for independence last year. Puigdemont fled the country after Madrid took control of the regional government - which it handed back in December - and has been in self-imposed exile since.

The prosecutor recommended sentences of up to 17 years on rebellion and misuse of funds charges for the other eight jailed Catalan politicians, and is seeking lesser charges for nine others accused of involvement in the campaign who are not in custody.

The leaders’ defense team must present its case in the next few weeks and the trial is expected to begin in January.

The prosecutor is also seeking up to 11 years in prison for four others, including the head of the Catalan police at the time of the independence declaration, in a separate High Court case.</s>Spanish prosecutors have called for prison sentences of up to 25 years for those accused of leading last year’s failed Catalan independence bid, amid opposition claims that the government has tried to influence the judiciary.

The attorney general said the supreme court should try former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras, six other politicians and two rank-and-file leaders for rebellion for their role in an outlawed referendum held in October 2017, which was followed by a declaration of independence.

Mr Junqueras, who has been in jail since, faces a possible 25-year prison sentence and could be barred from public office for up to 25 years if found guilty. He is also accused of misuse of public funds. Former Catalan parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell and rank-and-file leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, who are all accused of rebellion and are also in custody, could face jail sentences of up to 17 years.

Five former ministers in the Catalan government face jail terms of up to 16 years for rebellion and misuse of public funds, while another nine defendants face lesser charges.

Meanwhile, former Catalan police chief Josep Lluís Trapero, who will be tried separately along with three others by the high court, could face a jail sentence of up to 11 years if found guilty of rebellion.

However, there was controversy when equivalent charges presented by the state lawyer’s office, which works in conjunction with the justice ministry, were noticeably more lenient. The state lawyer did not call for any of the defendants to be tried for the most serious charge of rebellion, asking for a 12-year sentence for Mr Junqueras for sedition and misuse of public funds.

The rebellion charge is particularly controversial as it implies that violence or the threat of it was used, something the independence movement insists was not the case.

Nonetheless, the state lawyer’s position drew an angry response from the Catalan government. The region’s president, Quim Torra, said that Madrid had “missed an opportunity to take the judicial dimension out of a conflict that is political”.

Meanwhile, unionist opposition parties claim that Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been pressuring the judiciary to soften its case against the independence leaders because he needs the parliamentary support of Catalan nationalists. The state lawyer’s refusal to use the rebellion charge therefore drew strong criticism.

Pablo Casado, leader of the conservative Popular Party, tweeted that it was “indecent that the government humiliates Spain by forcing the state lawyer to distance itself from the attorney general and not accuse the coup-mongers of rebellion”.

Justice minister Dolores Delgado denied that the government had influenced the position of the state lawyer’s office, which, she said, was based on “technical, professional and judicial criteria”.

The trial is expected to begin early next year.

Several others accused of involvement in last year’s referendum who are not in the country, such as former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, are not facing charges because they cannot be tried in their absence.</s>MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s public prosecutor on Friday sought jail terms of up to 25 years for nine leaders of Catalonia’s independence movement, filing charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds over a failed secession bid that they spearheaded last year.

But the State Attorney - a separate government-appointed body also prosecuting in the case - said rebellion charges should be dropped in favor of the lesser offence of sedition and that it would seek maximum sentences of 12 years.

Madrid imposed direct rule on the wealthy northeastern region in October 2017 after it declared its independence on the basis of a referendum that Spanish courts ruled was unconstitutional.

The nine politicians were jailed without bail for their role in that campaign and remain in custody pending trail.

The prosecutor is also seeking lesser charges for another nine others accused of involvement in the campaign who have not been jailed ahead of the trial.

The prosecutor sought 25 years in jail for Oriol Junqueras, the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC, it said in a statement.

It recommended sentences of up to 17 years on the same charges for the other eight Catalan politicians.

The leaders’ defense team must present its case in the next few weeks and the trial is expected to begin in January.

There was no immediate comment from the Catalan regional government. Its head Quim Torra will address the media on Friday afternoon.</s>Spain's public prosecutor on Friday called for charges against jailed Catalan political leaders involved in a push for independence for the north eastern region to include rebellion, disobedience and misappropriation of funds.

MADRID: Spain's public prosecutor on Friday sought up to 25 years in jail for nine leaders of Catalonia's independence movement, filing charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds over an illegal secession bid they spearheaded last year.

But the State Attorney - a separate government-appointed body also prosecuting in the case - said rebellion charges should be dropped in favour of the lesser offence of sedition and that it would seek maximum sentences of 12 years.

The conservative government of Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on the wealthy northeastern region in October 2017 after it declared its independence on the basis of a referendum that Spanish courts ruled was unconstitutional.

Rajoy's administration was ousted in a no-confidence vote in June and replaced by a Socialist government under Pedro Sanchez.

While refusing to countenance any move towards Catalan independence, Sanchez has adopted a more conciliatory approach towards the region than his predecessor.

With the Socialists holding only 84 of 350 parliamentary seats, he is also relying on the support of Catalan lawmakers to get his 2019 budget passed through the house.

The nine Catalan politicians were jailed without bail for their role in last year's secession drive - which laid bare deep divisions between the region's pro- and anti-Spain camps - and remain in custody pending a Supreme Court trial.

The prosecutor sought 25 years in jail for Oriol Junqueras, the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC, it said in a statement.

It recommended sentences of up to 17 years on the same charges for the other eight jailed Catalan politicians, and is seeking lesser charges for nine others accused of involvement in the campaign who are not in custody.

There was no immediate comment from the Catalan regional government. Its head Quim Torra will address the media on Friday afternoon.

The leaders' defence team must present its case in the next few weeks and the trial is expected to begin in January.

The prosecutor is also seeking up to 11 years in prison for four others, including the head of the Catalan police at the time of the independence declaration, in a separate High Court case.</s>MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s State Attorney dropped a call for rebellion charges to be brought against jailed Catalan independence leaders on Friday, and said it would seek lesser charges of sedition and misappropriation of funds.

Earlier, the Spanish prosecutor said it would seek rebellion charges for all nine jailed leaders, with a maximum sentence of 25 years for the leader of pro-Catalan-independence party ERC Oriol Junqueras.

The State Attorney said it would seek up to 12 years for Junqueras and lesser sentences for the others accused.</s>The Spanish prosecutor’s office demands a 25-year prison sentence for the leader of the pro-independence Catalan party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ErC), Oriol Junqueras, for a challenge to the central government that resulted in the unilateral declaration of independence on October 27, 2017. Junqueras is charged with the Medieval crime of “rebellion”.

After a year of investigations, the prosecutor presented the request for sentences, ranging from 25 years for former Catalan vice president to 16 for five former “advisors”: Jordi Turull, Raul Romeva, Joaquim Forn, Dolors Bassa and Josep Rull.

For the leaders of Omnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, the prosecution requests 17 years in jail and a 17-year ban on holding public office, similar punishment is proposed for the former Catalan Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell.

All are charged with “rebellion“, a crime that carries a 30-year maximum sentence. For the three advisers who are not in detention – Carles Mundó, Maritxell Borrás and Santiago Vila – the requested sentence is limited to 7 years, since they are accused only of embezzlement.</s>MADRID: Spanish prosecutors called Friday (Nov 2) for Catalan separatist leaders to be jailed for up to 25 years on charges of rebellion or misuse of public funds over last year's failed secession bid.

In a statement ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court trial, the prosecution service said it was seeking prison sentences against 12 Catalan leaders ranging from seven to 25 years, the latter jail term being sought for former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras.

But in a sign Spain's socialist government disagreed, the attorney general's office announced it would ask for just 12 years jail for Junqueras, accusing him of sedition and misuse of public funds rather than the more serious charge of rebellion.

The sensitive trial is expected to start in early 2019 - more than a year after Catalan leaders attempted to break from Spain in October 2017 by staging a referendum despite a court ban and subsequently proclaiming independence.

Spain's then conservative government moved swiftly to depose the Catalan executive, dissolve the regional parliament and call snap local elections in December.

Some Catalan leaders such as deposed regional president Carles Puigdemont fled abroad, while others like Junqueras remained and were put into custody pending the trial.

Apart from Junqueras, prosecutors want two influential Catalan civic leaders, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, and former regional parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell jailed for 17 years.

In a separate case, prosecutors said they were seeking four to 11 years jail against former regional police leaders including Catalonia's then police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, who is also accused of rebellion.

Catalonia's current separatist leader Quim Torra reacted angrily against the jail terms sought for "good people, peaceful people."

"Does anyone think that the two million independence supporters will just disappear by demanding (a total of) 200 years of jail for pro-independence leaders?" he asked.

In its statement, the prosecution service said pro-independence leaders had planned to use all possible means to achieve secession, "including - knowing that the state wouldn't accept this situation - any violence needed to secure this criminal result".

It said separatist leaders had instigated "big citizen mobilisations" that represented an "intimidating force" and had also used the regional police force of 17,000 agents, who followed their orders.

The charge of rebellion has caused controversy in Spain, not just among those who support Catalan independence but further afield among legal experts.

According to Spanish law, rebellion is "rising up in a violent and public manner", to among other things "breach, suspend or change the constitution" or "declare independence for part of the (Spanish) territory".

Military officers behind a 1981 attempted coup in Spain were found guilty of rebellion, for instance.

But many legal experts contest the use of rebellion in the Catalan case, saying there was no violence during the secession bid, bar that waged by Spanish police on Oct 1, 2017 as they tried to stop people from voting in the banned referendum.

Spain's justice minister acknowledged the controversy on Friday, telling reporters there was a "legal, even social debate on what happened in Catalonia in September and October last year".

"This debate also took place at the attorney general's office," Dolores Delgado said, pointing out that it had decided to press charges of sedition, misuse of public funds and disobedience against Catalan leaders, and not rebellion.

She denied it was a political decision on the part of the Socialist government, which is in a minority in parliament and depends on other lawmakers, including from Catalan separatist parties, to pass bills or approve the budget.</s>Spanish prosecutors ask the Madrid court to sentence Catalan separatists leaders for up to 25 years on rebellion charges

MADRID, Spain – Spanish prosecutors called Friday, November 2, for Catalan separatist leaders to be jailed for up to 25 years on charges of rebellion or misuse of public funds over last year's failed secession bid.

In a statement ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court trial, the prosecution service said it was seeking prison sentences against 12 Catalan leaders ranging from seven to 25 years, the latter jail term being sought for former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras.

But in a sign Spain's socialist government disagreed, the attorney general's office announced it would ask for just 12 years jail for Junqueras, accusing him of sedition and misuse of public funds rather than the more serious charge of rebellion.

The sensitive trial is expected to start in early 2019 – more than a year after Catalan leaders attempted to break from Spain in October 2017 by staging a referendum despite a court ban and subsequently proclaiming independence.

Spain's then conservative government moved swiftly to depose the Catalan executive, dissolve the regional parliament and call snap local elections in December.

Some Catalan leaders like deposed regional president Carles Puigdemont fled abroad, while others like Junqueras remained and were put into custody pending the trial.

Apart from Junqueras, prosecutors want two influential Catalan civic leaders, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, and former regional parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell jailed for 17 years.

In a separate case, they said they were also seeking four to 11 years jail against former regional police leaders including Catalonia's then police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, whom they also accuse of rebellion.

In its statement, the prosecution service said pro-independence leaders planned to use all possible means to achieve secession, "including -- knowing that the state wouldn't accept this situation – any violence needed to secure this criminal result."

It said separatist leaders had instigated "big citizen mobilizations" that represented an "intimidating force" and had also used the regional police force, with its 17,000 agents, which followed their orders.

The charge of rebellion has caused controversy in Spain, not just among those who support Catalan independence but further afield among legal experts.

According to Spanish law, rebellion is "rising up in a violent and public manner," to among other things "breach, suspend or change the constitution" or "declare independence for part of the (Spanish) territory".

Military officers behind a 1981 attempted coup in Spain were found guilty of rebellion, for instance.

But many legal experts contest the use of rebellion in the Catalan case, saying there was no violence during the secession bid, bar that waged by Spanish police on October 1, 2017 as they tried to stop people from voting in the banned referendum. – Rappler.com</s>Spanish prosecutors called Friday for Catalan separatist leaders to be jailed for up to 25 years on charges of rebellion or misuse of public funds over last year’s failed secession bid.

In a statement ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court trial, the prosecution service said it was seeking prison sentences against 12 Catalan leaders ranging from seven to 25 years, the latter jail term being sought for former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras.

But in a sign Spain’s socialist government disagreed, the attorney general’s office announced it would ask for just 12 years jail for Junqueras, accusing him of sedition and misuse of public funds rather than the more serious charge of rebellion.

The sensitive trial is expected to start in early 2019 — more than a year after Catalan leaders attempted to break away from Spain in October 2017 by staging a referendum despite a court ban and subsequently proclaiming independence.

Spain’s then conservative government moved swiftly to depose the Catalan executive, dissolve the regional parliament and call snap local elections in December.

Some Catalan leaders such as deposed regional president Carles Puigdemont fled abroad, while others like Junqueras remained and were put into custody pending the trial.

“They can lock us up in here for years and years, but it will not weaken the desire for freedom,” Junqueras said in a letter on Thursday.

Apart from Junqueras, prosecutors want two influential Catalan civic leaders, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, and former regional parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell jailed for 17 years.

In a separate case, prosecutors said they were seeking four to 11 years jail against former regional police leaders including Catalonia’s then police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, who is also accused of rebellion.

“Does anyone think that the two million independence supporters will just disappear by demanding (a total of) 200 years of jail for pro-independence leaders?” he asked.

In its statement, the prosecution service said pro-independence leaders had planned to use all possible means to achieve secession, “including — knowing that the state wouldn’t accept this situation — any violence needed to secure this criminal result”.

It said separatist leaders had instigated “big citizen mobilisations” that represented an “intimidating force” and had also used the regional police force of 17,000 agents, who followed their orders.

The charge of rebellion has caused controversy in Spain, not just among those who support Catalan independence but further afield among legal experts.

According to Spanish law, rebellion is “rising up in a violent and public manner,” to among other things “breach, suspend or change the constitution” or “declare independence for part of the (Spanish) territory”.

Military officers behind a 1981 attempted coup in Spain were found guilty of rebellion, for instance.

But many legal experts contest the use of rebellion in the Catalan case, saying there was no violence during the secession bid, except that used by Spanish police on October 1, 2017 as they tried to stop people from voting in the banned referendum.

Spain’s justice minister acknowledged the controversy on Friday, telling reporters there was a “legal, even social debate on what happened in Catalonia in September and October last year”.

“This debate also took place at the attorney general’s office,” Dolores Delgado said, pointing out that it had decided to press charges of sedition, misuse of public funds and disobedience against Catalan leaders, and not rebellion.

She denied it was a political decision on the part of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist government, which is in a minority in parliament and depends on other lawmakers, including from Catalan separatist parties, to pass bills or approve the budget.

In an act in front of the prison where Junqueras is being held, Catalan leader Torra said separatist parties were withdrawing support for the budget and would not vote.

But Catalan parties with representation in Madrid will have more say in that decision and it was not immediately clear whether they would follow suit.

The right-wing opposition quickly accused the government of bowing to separatist pressure to secure support in parliament.

In a tweet, conservative lawmaker Pablo Casado accused premier Sanchez of being “hostage to coup plotters” and “no longer legitimate to lead the government”.</s>Spanish prosecutors are requesting that former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras be imprisoned for 25 years for rebellion and misappropriation of public funds, the highest prison term being sought for separatist leaders who pushed for Catalan independence last year.

The formal indictment of 18 politicians and activists issued Friday by Spain's public prosecutor's office accuses Junqueras of being the main promoter of an illegal Catalan independence referendum.

The banned vote in the northeastern Catalonia region caused Spain's gravest political crisis in four decades of democracy.

A Spanish Supreme Court probe into the turbulent events was wrapped up last month and the trial is expected to begin in early 2019.

Seven politicians, including Junqueras, and two civil society activists are already in pre-trial custody in Catalan prisons.
The Spanish Attorney General seeks jail terms for Catalan independence leaders for the crime of rebellion with the highest requested penalty being 25 years against Oriol Junqueras. The State's Advocacy is asking for prison sentences for only the lesser crimes of sedition and embezzlement.