Spain to bring charges of rebellion against Catalan leaders - could face 30 years in jail

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:15 UTC

© Rex/ Agence France Press

Jose Manuel Maza (L) has said that Carles Puigdemont could face 30 years in prison

Earlier in the week, The Express reported that Spain's 'attorney general' gave a blunt message that if he declares independence for Catalonia he will be charged with "rebellion" and could face 30 years in prison, to the President of the north east region and said he would call on the Catalan police - Mossos d'Esquadra - to detain Mr Puigdemont, who has been the focal figures in the region's push to break away from the rest of Spain. Mr Maza, speaking at an event on cybersecurity in Madrid, said:

"I am surprised that this is surprising. This is normal and natural in a state of law and, therefore, it is logical to pursue.

The rebellion crime is punishable by 30 years in prison if it is a crime of considerable gravity, of course."

And now that Independence has been proclaimed, The Independent reports that Spain's top prosecutor will seek rebellion charges for those responsible for a vote in favor of declaring an independent Catalan republic, an official spokesman said.

The spokesman said the prosecutor is looking to determine if the charges should be limited to the Catalan cabinet, including President Carles Puigdemont and Vice President Oriol Junqueras, or if they should also include members of the parliament's governing board and lawmakers.

The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity in line with internal rules, said the charges could be brought as early as Monday.

As Mr. Maza warns:

"The rebellion crime is punishable by 30 years in prison if it is a crime of considerable gravity, of course..

...if the Catalan police did not comply with the order, Spain would take over control of the force."

Finally, as a subtle reminder, The Spain Report tweeted what happened the last time the Catalan republic was declared, in 1934:

• State of war
• Lasted 10 hours
• 46 dead in Barcelona

Mr Puigdemont has called on fellow separatists to remain peaceful ahead of the expected crackdown by Spanish authorities.

Facing a crowd of hundreds of supporters packing Catalonia's parliament building, he said: "In the days ahead we must keep to our values of pacificism and dignity. It's in our, in your hands to build the republic."

We wish him luck with that.

Comment: The sticking point in Spain's plans is that Article 155 does not explicitly allow for the Madrid government to take control of an autonomous region and rule it directly, but instead specifies that 'the [Madrid] government can take the necessary steps to oblige the autonomous region to comply with orders from the government'. By dissolving the Catalan government and, effectively, ruling directly until new elections in December, the Madrid government is breaking its own laws.

What kind of elections does Madrid think it can organize in December whereby there will be a majority of anti-independence members of the Catalan parliament, unlike the current parliament configuration? Are mass arrests of pro-independence MPs in Cataluña coming? Will pro-independence parties be banned? How else can Madrid prevent the MPs it has just 'fired' from running again for election?