(12 Feb 2019) The former leader of Catalonia's independence movement who fled from Spain has called for 12 separatists starting trial in Madrid to be absolved for their alleged crimes.
Carles Puigdemont questioned the reason why the Spanish court would not allow him to be a witness for the separatists.
"They are going to judge my colleagues for having followed my orders, and why? What exactly are they afraid of?" he asked.
The Catalan President said that he had faced justice both in Germany and Belgium but "a fair, clear and right justice" is not possible in Spain.
Puigdemont successfully avoided extradition from Germany when a German court refused to send him back to Spain on charges of rebellion last year.
He has been living in Belgium since fleeing Spain in October 2017 after defying warnings by Spanish authorities and leading a secession bid that Spanish courts say violated the Constitution.
The dozen high-profile separatists whose trial at Spain's Supreme Court began Tuesday face charges that include rebellion.
The proceedings in Madrid  are being broadcast live on television in a transparency effort to counter attacks on the court's credibility by separatists.

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