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Aerial view of the Supreme Court of Spain in Madrid. The trial of twelve Catalan independence leaders will take place this Tuesday, February 12, 2019. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 FDV

The trial of 12 Catalan independence activists opens this Tuesday, February 12 in Madrid, Spain, a year and a half after the referendum of self-determination of Catalonia. Although banned by the Spanish courts, it ended with a declaration of independence from the richest region of Spain. Political tensions have since followed, and the trial of the twelve independence leaders should not ease the situation.

In the box of the accused, twelve figures of Catalan independence, including former Vice President Oriol Junqueras and the former leader of the Regional Parliament, Carme Forcadell. They are mostly accused of rebellion. Nine of them have been in pre-trial detention for a year, transferred to a prison in Madrid during the trial.

An extraordinary trial

A major name appears on the list of absentees: Carlos Puigdemont, former president of Catalonia and organizer of the 2017 referendum, who lives in Belgium today. As for the leader of Spain at the time of the referendum, the conservative Mariano Rajoy, he is on the list of hundreds of witnesses called to the bar.

This trial will revolve around a question: " Was the 2017 referendum violent ? The interrogation is central, because if the judges believe that there was indeed a violent uprising, the accusations of rebellion will be founded. Since the consultation, the separatists claim that the only ones who have been violent are the policemen sent by Madrid to prevent the referendum. The accused are at risk of 7 to 25 years in prison.

A (re) listening: Catalonia, one year after the referendum, tensions remain alive

The lawsuit could have immediate repercussions on Pedro Sanchez's government, as he needs the support of Catalan politicians in Parliament to vote his budget. While at the same time, the opposition parties have called for a demonstration in Madrid, which gathered tens of thousands of people last Sunday, to demand the departure of the head of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez.

Only the King of Spain could use his right of grace if necessary. The Supreme Court ultimately rules and does not allow an appeal.