The 9-N vote in the dock

On February 6, the former Catalan president Artur Mas will appear in court. In the following days, so will former vice president Joana Ortega and minister Irene Rigau. They are charged with contempt and perverting the course of justice in organising the 9-N vote, in which 2,300,000 Catalan voters took part. For top government officials (including ex-presidency minister Francesc Homs in another case) to be charged for allowing a democratic vote is so extraordinary that it has generated great media interest and public indignation in Catalonia.

Sovereignty organisations this week called on the public to mobilise in defence of the accused officials and, from today, El Punt Avui is launching a campaign on its website to gather the opinions of the public, not only about the 9N case, but about the current political situation in Catalonia in general. It must not be forgotten that 9-N is merely the first case to arrive in the courts, hundreds of cases have been brought against public officials all over the country, for such perceived offences as refusing to withdraw the lone-star Catalan independence flag from town hall balconies or for declaring support for 9N in parliament. Meanwhile, parliament president Carme Forcadell is being investigated for allowing a debate on the sovereignty road map, and the parliament bureau and all government ministers, including president Puigdemont and vice president Junqueras, have been formally warned that if they go ahead with the road map, and thus a referendum in September, they will also be charged.

In the next fortnight, El Punt Avui will also publish the reflections of 50 public figures on the political situation, from the political use of the courts and the 9N case to the planned referendum.