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Spain Probe Of Catalan Leaders Expanded – Court Filing

Spanish police have expanded a probe into Catalan separatists to include more top former officials implicated in the region’s thwarted independence drive, court documents showed … Continue reading Spain Probe Of Catalan Leaders Expanded – Court Filing

By Ignatius Igwe
Updated December 21, 2017
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Protesters wave pro-independence Catalan Estelada flags during a demonstration in Barcelona on October 21, 2017 in support of separatist leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who have been detained pending an investigation into sedition charges. Spain announced that it will move to dismiss Catalonia’s separatist government and call fresh elections in the semi-autonomous region in a bid to stop its leaders from declaring independence. LLUIS GENE / AFP

Spanish police have expanded a probe into Catalan separatists to include more top former officials implicated in the region’s thwarted independence drive, court documents showed on Thursday.

In the court filing, the police point the finger at Marta Rovira, one of the main pro-independence candidates in Thursday’s Catalan regional election.

Catalans hope the vote will settle a bitter political crisis over calls for independence.

The Civil Guard military police on December 15 submitted to the Supreme Court a 112-page report on suspects being investigated over the independence drive.

Extracts seen by AFP on Thursday revealed that all former members of the deposed government, as well as various other officials and pro-independence leaders, could face charges in the probe.

The suspects include Rovira, who would likely be tasked with running the day-to-day business of the regional government should the ERC list win Thursday’s vote and form a coalition.

The Spanish government branded the separatist effort illegal and deposed the regional government after the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence on October 27.

Several senior members of the deposed Catalan government have already been detained pending sedition and rebellion charges, including former vice-president Oriol Junqueras of the ERC.

In total, 18 of the pro-independence candidates for election to the regional parliament in Thursday’s vote are being investigated. Three of them are in detention.

AFP

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