Trial Of The Century

At least in Spain. The trial of the imprisoned leaders of the movement that led to an illegal referendum on Catalan independence and then a unilateral declaration of independence in the parliament chamber during full session, are to stand trial tomorrow for their breaches of the law. Whether you call it rebellion (too harsh in terms of the 25 year sentence it carries) or sedition (5 years or so) or something else, they do need to face justice for the attempt to form a break-away state without any agreed legal process and no majority in the popular vote (although a coalition of opposites - right-wing with anti-capitalists, the equivalent of getting into bed with people you find morally repulsive - gained them a tiny parliamentary majority of one or two seats). As this newspaper, La Vanguardia, said in its editorial, it would be far better that they simply admit political defeat, neogiate the best possible interim degree of autonomy they can get within the Spanish constitution and come back in a few years when they have a much bigger social base to ask for a properly-sanctioned independence referendum. You can't just take the whole thing into your hands and expect to get away Scot free. Not even the Scots did that!

This is the room where the trial will take place.