Catalan parliament speaker on trial for holding independence vote
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BARCELONA - The speaker of the Catalan parliament denied in court on Friday she had committed a crime by letting the assembly vote on whether to pursue independence, and said no court could stop the separatist movement.
Hundreds of supporters massed outside the Barcelona court to protest against the trial of speaker Carme Forcadell on charges of contempt of court and neglect of duty.
The parliament voted in July to continue with its plan to detach Catalonia from Spain, in defiance of a ruling by the Spanish Constitutional Court annulling an earlier resolution to form an independent state with or without Madrid's consent.
Speaker Carme Forcadell said she pleaded not guilty to the charges on the first day of her trial at the Catalan high court, which she entered after blowing a kiss to the cheering crowd.
