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SPAIN-CATALONIA-POLITICS-TRIAL
Catalan president goes on trial for ‘disobedience’
BARCELONA, Nov 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The president of Catalonia’s regional
government went on trial in Barcelona on Monday for “disobedience” after
refusing to remove separatist symbols from public buildings, amid heightened
tensions in the Spanish region.
Prosecutors have called for Quim Torra to be declared ineligible for
public office for 20 months, which would make it impossible for him to remain
president of the wealthy region.
His trial comes after Spain’s Supreme Court on October 14 sentenced nine
Catalan separatist leaders to lengthy jail terms over an abortive 2017
independence bid, setting off a wave of angry protests that repeatedly
descended into violence.
In March, Spanish electoral authorities ordered Torra to remove separatist
symbols from public buildings to respect institutional neutrality ahead of
parliamentary elections in April.
They objected in particular to a banner outside the Catalonian regional
government headquarters that read “Freedom for political prisoners and
exiles” next to a yellow ribbon indicating support for the detained Catalan
separatist leaders who were sentenced last month.
The Catalan government ignored two deadlines to take the banner down
before finally ceding just before a planned police intervention.
Catalonia’s parliament and its regional government are dominated by
separatist parties, but the region itself remains deeply divided and the
recent crisis has exacerbated the split.
BSS/AFP/RY/1543 hrs