The former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two of his aides went on trial Monday in Barcelona for ignoring a Constitutional ban and going ahead with a vote on the region’s independence from Spain. The five-day trial is likely to inflame longstanding tensions between the central government and the supporters of separatism in the wealthy northeastern region of 7.5 million people. Artur Mas, who stepped down as president of the regional government last year, faces a 10-year ban from holding public office for disobedience and wrongdoing.
Prosecutors are also calling for fines and a nine-year disqualification from politics for former regional vice president Joana Ortega and education councilor Irene Rigau, both accused in the same case of aiding with the November 2014 vote.
Organizers at the time said 80 percent of the 2.3 million Catalans who cast a ballot voted to support creating a Catalonian state independent from Spain.
Full Article: Ex-Catalan leader on trial for holding vote on independence | World | dailyjournalonline.com.