Carme Forcadell and five Catalan MPs appeared before supreme court in Madrid over role in banned independence referendum

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The speaker of the Catalan parliament has been granted bail after telling a judge that last month’s declaration of independence was only symbolic and promising to respect the Spanish constitution in the future.

Carme Forcadell and five other parliamentary officials appeared at Spain’s supreme court on Thursday to testify over the roles in the banned independence referendum and the subsequent vote on declaring independence.

Forcadell left the Alcalá Meco prison outside Madrid on Friday after paying €150,000 (£132,000) bail. Four of the other lawmakers were ordered to pay bail of €25,000, while another member of the governing body was questioned and released without bail.

The six, who face possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, were questioned by Judge Pablo Llarena and two prosecutors throughout the day.



Lawyers familiar with the proceedings said Forcadell had testified that the independence vote held in the Catalan parliament on 27 October was “declarative and symbolic”, adding the move was intended to minimise her liability if she were charged.

Forcadell and other members of the deposed government had previously insisted that the referendum and its results would be legally binding.

Llarena wrote in his ruling: “All the accused … have expressed that either they renounce future political activity or, those that remain active, will in future renounce any actions outside the constitutional framework.”

The judge also said that while citizens could legitimately support “an idea of independence … it can be excluded that the accused aspired to gain independence through legal means”.

Eight former Catalan ministers are already in custody pending investigations by Spain’s top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional – as are the leaders of the two main grassroots pro-independence groups. On Thursday, the high court rejected an appeal presented by their lawyers for their release

Forcadell and the others are being dealt with by the supreme court as they still have parliamentary immunity.



At the end of October, José Manuel Maza announced that he would ask the national court to bring the charges against 14 members of Puigdemont’s administration for pushing ahead with independence in defiance of Spain’s government, its constitution and its constitutional court.

Maza said the charges were being sought “because their actions over the past two years have produced an institutional crisis that culminated with the unilateral declaration of independence made with total contempt for our constitution on 27 October”.



On Monday, Puigdemont hit out at the Spanish authorities, accusing them of waging a “brutal judicial offensive” against members of his ousted government and saying he feared they would not receive an unbiased hearing in Spanish courts.

“Today, the leaders of this democratic project stand accused of rebellion and face the severest punishment possible under the Spanish penal code; the same as for cases of terrorism and murder: 30 years in prison,” he said.



The Spanish government has been in control of Catalonia since 27 October. Less than an hour after the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence, the Spanish senate authorised the unprecedented use of article 155 of the constitution, which has allowed the central government to impose direct rule and oversee the region’s finances, police and civil servants.

Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, also used the article to call snap Catalan elections on 21 December. Despite fears that pro-independence parties might boycott the polls, both Puigdemont’s centre-right Catalan Democratic party (PDeCat) and the leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) of former regional vice president Oriol Junqueras have said they will participate in the elections.

However, the two parties, which were part of Catalonia’s ruling coalition, are not going to run again on a joint ticket.

Timeline Eight key moments in the Catalan independence campaign Show Hide Spain’s constitutional court strikes down parts of a 2006 charter on Catalan autonomy that had originally increased the region’s fiscal and judicial powers and described it as a “nation”. The court rules that using the word “nation” has no legal value and also rejects the “preferential” use of Catalan over Spanish in municipal services. Almost two weeks later, hundreds of thousands protest on the streets of Barcelona, chanting “We are a nation! We decide!” At the height of Spain’s economic crisis, more than a million people protest in Barcelona on Catalonia’s national day, demanding independence in what will become a peaceful, annual show of strength. The pro-independence government of Artur Mas defies the Madrid government and Spain’s constitutional court by holding a symbolic vote on independence. Turnout is just 37%, but more than 80% of those who voted - 1.8 million people - vote in favour of Catalan sovereignty. Carles Puigdemont, who has replaced Mas as regional president, announces an independence referendum will be held on 1 October. Spain’s central government says it will block the referendum using all the legal and political means at its disposal. The Catalan parliament approves referendum legislation after a heated, 11-hour session that sees 52 opposition MPs walk out of the chamber in Barcelona in protest at the move. Spain’s constitutional court suspends the legislation the following day, but the Catalan government vows to press ahead with the vote. Police arrest 14 Catalan government officials suspected of organising the referendum and announce they have seized nearly 10 million ballots destined for the vote. Some 40,000 people protest against the police crackdown in Barcelona and Puigdemont accuses the Spanish government of effectively suspending regional autonomy and declaring a de facto state of emergency. Close to 900 people are injured as police attempt to stop the referendum from taking place. The Catalan government says 90% voted for independence on a turnout of 43%. Spanish government takes control of Catalonia and dissolves its parliament after secessionist Catalan MPs voted to establish an independent republic. Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, fires regional president, Carles Puigdemont, and orders regional elections to be held on 21 December.

A poll at the weekend suggested the ERC could overtake its former partner, taking 46-46 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament to the PDeCat’s 14 or 15.

In order to secure the 68 seats needed for a majority, the two parties would have to turn once again, to the far-left, anti-capitalist CUP, which helped them over the line following the last election in 2015. But the CUP is still deciding whether it will take part in the elections.

The political turmoil has plunged Spain into its worst crisis in 40 years and further divided Catalonia, where people are almost evenly split on the issue of independence.

More than 2,000 businesses have shifted their legal headquarters out of the region amid the enduring uncertainty, while a strike on Wednesday caused widespread disruption after pro-independence protesters blocked main roads and railway lines.

On Thursday, the president of the European commission renewed his calls for unity in the face of separatism.

Carles Puigdemont gambled and failed. The consequences will live on | George Kassimeris Read more

Speaking in the Spanish university city of Salamanca, Jean-Claude Juncker described nationalism as “a poison that prevents Europe from working together”.

He added: “We cannot stay with our arms crossed because it is time for us to do what needs to be done. I say no to any form of separatism that weakens Europe and further widens the existing fissures.”

Although he has bemoaned the Spanish government’s failure to head off the Catalan crisis, Juncker has refused to intervene, saying any EU action on the issue would only cause “a lot more chaos”.

Rajoy, who was with Juncker in Salamanca, thanked him for his support “in such difficult times”.