Catalonia: Spanish prosecutors ask National Court to jail eight ex-members of fired Catalan government

Group faces charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement with a maximum sentence of 30 years

A protester holds a pro-independence Catalan Estelada flag next to journalists as members of the deposed Catalan regional government arrive at the National Court in Madrid (AFP)

Prosecutors have asked Spain's High Court to jail eight ex-members of the fired Catalan government for their involvement in October's "illegal" independence referendum.

The request came after nine ex-ministers were questioned at the National Court in Madrid on possible charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement.

Twenty regional politicians, including former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, were called to appear in court following the regional parliament's declaration of independence on 27 October.

Under Spanish law, the crimes are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

The group summoned includes Mr Puigdemont's 13-member former Cabinet and six parliamentary board members.

But the ousted Catalan President, who travelled to Brussels with some of his ex-Cabinet members earlier this week, remains in Belgium.

Their failure to appear before the court could trigger arrest warrants and an extradition petition. Mr Puigdemont has denied he fled Spain to seek political asylum but said he was in the EU capital for "freedom and safety".

The president of Spain's Supreme Court, Carlos Lesmes, has said a Europe-wide arrest warrant will likely be issued for Mr Puigdemont.

In a statement the exiled Catalan government denounced the “political trial” as “without a legal basis that only seeks to punish ideas”.

Among those who did attend the court hearing in Madrid was Catalan ex-vice president Oriol Junqueras, the regional government’s spokesman, Jordi Turull, and Josep Rull, who handled the region's territorial affairs.

A parallel session in Spain’s Supreme Court to hear cases against six other Catalan MPs, including parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, has been postponed until next week.

The prosecutor suggested the eight facing jail could avoid prison by paying bail. The judge has yet to decide on the request.