Solicitor general refutes charge of violent rebellion against Catalan leaders

For the rebellion charges brought by the public prosecutor against Catalan independence leaders to stick, it must be proved that violence was part of the 2017 bid to split from Spain, characterized by the public prosecutor as "an act against the constitutional order."

The defendants on trial in the Supreme Court have consistently denied any accusations of violence and, on Tuesday, the solicitor general representing the Spanish government agreed that "the use of violence was not central to the independence bid.”

With the prosecution taking turns giving their closing arguments on day 50 of the trial, the solicitor general justified her decision to charge the defendants with sedition rather than rebellion by making a distinction between the use of violence and "the use of force."