Two pro-independence CUP party mayors were arrested today by Spanish police, along with over a dozen other people, including president Torra’s nephew. Most were released pending summons over a protest where a train line was blocked last December. Pro-independence MPs protested by abandoning parliamentary committees, which the opposition criticized. Meanwhile, former Parliament speaker Carme Forcadell accuses the Spanish judiciary of acting politically. In her statement of defense ahead of the trial, she argues freedom of speech protects the votes held in the chamber. Former minister Santi Vila, like his other colleagues, denies misuse of funds.