THE former president of Catalonia is facing a further ban from public office and a second fine of €30,000 (£25,800) for failing to remove from a public building a banner supporting the jailed independence leaders.
Quim Torra was convicted and fined last year for failing to remove yellow ribbons – symbols of support for the pro-independence leaders – and, as well as being fined, he was banned from public office for 18 months.
On this occasion the public prosecutor is seeking a similar fine along with a 20-month ban for displaying the banner ahead of the September 2019 election, in defiance of a court order.
He has also asked the court to impose a fine on Torra of €100 (£86) a day for 10 months after the former president expressed “his clear will not to comply with any order”.
The former president will be tried at the Catalan High Court on a date to be announced.
Torra is accused of the crime of disobedience for refusing to remove with banner within 48 hours.
He alleged the order was a violation of his freedom of expression and it was only removed by workers at the Catalan Government HQ before police arrived to take it down.
The reasoning behind the removal order was that public buildings should remain neutral in a pre-election period, but he insisted he had the right to freedom of speech and political participation.
His first trial involved the yellow ribbons which sprung up across Catalonia and beyond around the time of the trial of indy leaders for their part in the 2017 referendum.
Torra argued then that the electoral board “had no right to issue such an order”, but he was found guilty – a sentence that was upheld in an appeal to the Supreme Court last September.
His guilty sentence led to him being ousted from power and the Catalan Government becoming a caretaker administration with no president.
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