Hearing for Catalan Parliament bureau postponed, police surveillance ordered

The six Catalan Parliament bureau members due to declare on Thursday before the Spanish Supreme Court will have one more week to prepare their defenses. The president of the chamber, Carme Forcadell, and her colleagues will have to go back to Madrid next Thursday, November 9. The judge ordered police surveillance for all of them in the meantime on a request from the prosecution. All of the bureau members have been accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, the same crimes as the dismissed Catalan ministers.

Defense lawyers denounced the speed at which the legal process is proceeding, criticizing the fact that the court summonses were given with extremely short notice, in some cases, less than 24 hours, calling it a violation of fundamental rights. Because of that, the judge has given them one more week to prepare. MPs and senators from several Catalan pro-referendum parties waited outside the court to support them as they went in and when they left after the postponement.