Oriol Junqueras refuses to recognise Madrid court trying 12 people for independence bid

The chief defendant in the trial of Catalan independence leaders declared himself a political prisoner as he took the stand on Thursday in the Madrid court where he and 11 others face charges over the 2017 bid to break away from Spain.

Oriol Junqueras, the former Catalan vice-president, effectively refused to recognise the court, agreeing only to take questions from his defence lawyer and not the prosecution. “This is a political trial and I refuse to answer to my accusers,” he said. “I am a political prisoner and I am on trial for my ideas.”

Madrid trial of separatists seen as the most important since Spain’s return to democracy

A little less than 16 months ago, the nine men and three women sitting on the plush burgundy benches of Madrid’s supreme court were ministers in the Catalan regional government and high-profile civic leaders.

On Tuesday morning, however, they stepped out of prison vans to take their places as the defendants in landmark proceedings variously described as the trial of the century, a “stress test for Spanish democracy”, and the single most important judicial event the country has seen since the end of the Franco dictatorship.

Protesters denounce what they see as PM’s overly conciliatory stance on Catalan issue

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Madrid on Sunday to protest against the government’s handling of the Catalan question, as the country braced for the landmark trial of 12 separatist leaders this week.

About 45,000 people joined the rally in Colón square to vent their fury at what they see as the overly conciliatory stance adopted by the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand a snap general election.