As a precaution, the trial was moved from the court's headquarters in central Madrid to San Fernando de Henares on the outskirts.

There, the Supreme Criminal Court has a specially protected room with plenty of space.

Large-scale corruption and terror trials that made legal history in Spain have already taken place in the purpose-built building.

Another "macro trial" with 49 defendants began there on Monday.

This is what the court proceedings against the Hells Angels are called in Spain.

It is one of the largest lawsuits against the rock band in Europe to date.

Hans Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb based in Madrid.

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All eyes are on Frank Hanebuth early Monday afternoon.

The judge opened the trial almost four hours late.

The tall, bald-headed rocker boss sits at the front of one of the simple wooden chairs.

Wearing a blue shirt, he appears relaxed, despite prosecutors accusing him of being the head of the gang in Spain.

The court spokeswoman clearly had trouble with his and the many other German names when reading out the indictment.

Some of the accused are connected via video conference, two are in the hospital, four are wanted.

The indictment, which calls for prison sentences totaling more than 300 years, is more than 150 pages long.

It's about murder, extortion, sexual exploitation, drug and arms trafficking - a total of 16 offenses.

The German "Ángeles del Infierno" had begun to gain a foothold in Mallorca in 2009 and to expand their business from Playa de Palma.

Almost ten years ago, the Spanish police stopped their expansion with "Operation Casablanca".

Hanebuth is President of "North Gate" in Hanover

The prosecution believes Frank Hanebuth to be the leader.

He came to Mallorca from Lower Saxony in 2012.

It takes a particularly long time before all the allegations and the sentence against the two-meter-tall former boxer are read out.

The 58-year-old is accused of membership in a criminal organization, money laundering, illegal possession of weapons, drug trafficking and procuring.

He faces a prison sentence of 13 years.

For others it could be more.

His local governors, brothers KY and AY, are serving 28 years and 6 months and 23 years in prison respectively.

Hanebuth was arrested in 2013 at his luxury property in Mallorca, which cost more than two million euros.

He was in custody in Spain for two years until he was released on bail and returned to Hanover in 2016.

There the Hells Angels received him enthusiastically.

He immediately became president of the newly formed offshoot "North Gate".

In Spain, Hanebuth rejects all allegations.

According to his lawyer, there is no agreement with the public prosecutor's office to reduce the sentence through a confession.

Other defendants are said to be trying.

On Mallorca, however, not only the biker gangs fought each other.

They brutally exploited women and treated them as their property.

According to the prosecution, the most important source of income was prostitution.

Women from Eastern Europe were lured to the island with false promises.

They had to work in clubs and earn up to 1000 euros a day before they could get any time off.

Some women who refused were locked in kennels with vicious dogs "as punishment".

There are also allegations of money laundering, for example in the attempt to bring the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Mallorca.

The trial has been scheduled until February 10th.

It could be April before the verdict is reached.

The accused have summoned 40 lawyers, including leading Spanish criminal defense lawyers.