SPAIN’s Supreme Court will hold initial hearings next week in the trial of Catalan independence leaders – nine of whom are in pre-trial detention, in some cases for over a year.
The court will meet next Tuesday to rule on the defendants’ petition to transfer their case to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC).
A total of 25 pro-independence leaders are facing trial for their role in the October 2017 referendum.
They include former vice-president Oriol Junqueras, as well as prisoners who are currently on hunger strike – former ministers Quim Forn, Josep Rull and Jordi Turull, and Jordi Sànchez, former president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC).
READ MORE: Catalan Speaker says 'Scottish road' to independence is the best
The prisoners are not expected appear in court on Tuesday, but they will have 10 days after its ruling to propose witnesses and present evidence for their trials.
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