Catalan president appears in Barcelona court

Catalan President Artur Mas has appeared in court in Barcelona for organising an independence vote. Thousands of supporters sang the Catalan anthem and chanted “Down with Spanish justice” outside the court as he faced charges of disobeying a court ban on the November 2014 vote. Hundreds of regional mayors joined the protest at the Catalonia […]

Catalan President Artur Mas has appeared in court in Barcelona for organising an independence vote.
Thousands of supporters sang the Catalan anthem and chanted “Down with Spanish justice” outside the court as he faced charges of disobeying a court ban on the November 2014 vote.
Hundreds of regional mayors joined the protest at the Catalonia Supreme Court.
About 80% of people backed Catalan independence from Spain in the non-binding vote.
However turnout in Spain’s north-eastern region was not high, with only 2.2 million people voting out of an electorate of more than five million.
Spain’s central government in Madrid has pledged to challenge any unilateral moves towards independence in court, arguing such actions are against the constitution.