Barcelona, Spain: Catalonia leader Artur Mas went before a judge today charged with breaking the law by staging a vote on independence from Spain, as hundreds of supporters demonstrated outside the court.
Mas's supporters have branded the case against him politically motivated and accuse Spanish authorities of going after him to disrupt his drive for the rich northeastern region to secede.
The Catalan independence movement has raised political tensions in Spain as it recovers from several years of recession and prepares for a general election on December 20.
The 59-year-old Mas waved from the steps of the courthouse to a crowd of hundreds of supporters as he arrived for a preliminary hearing in a judicial process that could see him barred from public office.
Prosecutors accuse him of civil disobedience and misuse of public funds in organising the vote on November 9, 2014, in defiance of an injunction by Spain's Constitutional Court.
The Spanish government went to court to block his plan for a full referendum so Mas instead held the November vote as a non-binding symbolic ballot.
Sensitive date
Before his hearing, Mas attended a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the death of Companys, who in 1934 declared a short-lived Catalan state.
Mas's supporters bitterly criticised the choice of date for the hearing.
His two co-defendants, regional education minister Irene Rigau and the former deputy leader of the regional government Joana Ortega, both denied the charges against them at hearings on Tuesday.
"It is not good to criminalise a peaceful and democratic political act," Ortega said.
The rallies by separatists at the tribunal could further raise tensions after the courts service branded such demonstrations as an "attack on judicial independence".
Catalans' long-standing demands for greater autonomy have intensified over recent years as Madrid has resisted their bids for reform, and have surged in the recent economic crisis.
Deepening the conflict with Madrid, Mas teamed up with other separatists in a joint list in the September 27 Catalan regional election, making it a de facto vote on secession.
The alliance won enough seats to control the Catalan parliament if it teams up with the far-left separatist group CUP.
Mas's alliance had vowed to declare independence for Catalonia by 2017 if it won, but it must first reach an agreement with the CUP.
Mas's supporters have branded the case against him politically motivated and accuse Spanish authorities of going after him to disrupt his drive for the rich northeastern region to secede.
The Catalan independence movement has raised political tensions in Spain as it recovers from several years of recession and prepares for a general election on December 20.
The 59-year-old Mas waved from the steps of the courthouse to a crowd of hundreds of supporters as he arrived for a preliminary hearing in a judicial process that could see him barred from public office.
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Prosecutors accuse him of civil disobedience and misuse of public funds in organising the vote on November 9, 2014, in defiance of an injunction by Spain's Constitutional Court.
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The Spanish government went to court to block his plan for a full referendum so Mas instead held the November vote as a non-binding symbolic ballot.
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Sensitive date
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Before his hearing, Mas attended a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the death of Companys, who in 1934 declared a short-lived Catalan state.
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Mas's supporters bitterly criticised the choice of date for the hearing.
His two co-defendants, regional education minister Irene Rigau and the former deputy leader of the regional government Joana Ortega, both denied the charges against them at hearings on Tuesday.
"It is not good to criminalise a peaceful and democratic political act," Ortega said.
The rallies by separatists at the tribunal could further raise tensions after the courts service branded such demonstrations as an "attack on judicial independence".
Catalans' long-standing demands for greater autonomy have intensified over recent years as Madrid has resisted their bids for reform, and have surged in the recent economic crisis.
Deepening the conflict with Madrid, Mas teamed up with other separatists in a joint list in the September 27 Catalan regional election, making it a de facto vote on secession.
The alliance won enough seats to control the Catalan parliament if it teams up with the far-left separatist group CUP.
Mas's alliance had vowed to declare independence for Catalonia by 2017 if it won, but it must first reach an agreement with the CUP.
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