Spanish minister says nobody above law as Catalan trial begins

Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said "nobody is above the law", as the trial of former Catalan regional leader Artur Mas began in Barcelona on Monday.

Mas, his former deputy Joana Orgeta, as well as former education secretary Irene Rigau, face charges of serious civil disobedience, misuse of public funds and misconduct for organizing a non-binding referendum on the independence of the Catalan region in November 2014.

"We are not judging Catalonia, nor are we judging the Catalans, but a political leader who disobeyed the decision of the Constitutional Court," said Zoido, who insisted that the Spanish judiciary was "independent".

Mas, who could be banned from public office for 10 years if found guilty, was accompanied on his way to court by around 40,000 supporters who chanted "down with the Spanish justice system".

On Sunday, he told a press conference that he did not regret his actions and that he, Rigau and Ortega were "defending the right to freedom of expression".

"We are defending the cause of democracy," said Mas, claiming that allowing the referendum was "our duty, our responsibility and our aim". Endit