Catalonia’s President Sued for ‘Rebellion’ Against Spain, Risks 30 Years in Jail

Spain‘s public prosecutor’s office will begin legal proceedings against Catalan President Carles Puigdemont next week for “rebellion,” said a spokesman for the public prosecutor, after the Catalan Parliament declared its independence this Friday, reports the AFP.

“The prosecution will file a complaint next week for rebellion against Carles Puigdemont,” an offense punishable by a prison term of up to 30 years, the spokesman told the AFP, adding that this procedure could “perhaps be extended to the rest of the Catalan government and the office of presidents” of the Catalan assembly.

The resolution proclaiming Catalonia an “independent state taking the form of a republic” was approved Friday afternoon by 70 votes out of 135. The parliament member who opposed independence left the hemicycle and for the most part boycotted the ballot.

Puigdemont then announced that the Catalan parliament’s decision was “legitimate,” assuring that he had received a “validated mandate from the ballot box.” Soon after the news broke out, Spain’s senate gave Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unprecedented powers to impose direct rule on the region.

Rajoy is expected to start dissolving the Catalan government by firing President Puigdemont.

On October 22, Rajoy revealed his plans to impose direct rule on the region. He also promised to fire elected leaders, including Puigdemont. After his announcement, over half a million Catalans took to Barcelona’s streets to protest the announced measures.

Puigdemont described Rajoy’s plans as the “worst attacks against the people of Catalonia since General Franco’s dictatorship.” Puigdemont was alluding to a time during the Civil War (1936-1939) in which the military dictator Francisco Franco dissolved Catalonia’s autonomy for resisting his rule.

Puigdemont also accused the Spanish government of attempting to “eliminate the Catalan self-government and its democracy.”