Former speaker of the Catalan Parliament Carme Forcadell, in her testimony to the Supreme Court after her indictment for rebellion, defends the peaceful pursuit of the aim of independence and denounces the police violence seen during the referendum. Forcadell told judge Pablo Llarena that, throughout history, a number of declarations of Catalan independence had been made and that "the majority are in force because they haven't been legally contested".
The former speaker defended Catalonia's right to self-determination and the referendum as a path to independence. With dialogue and without violence. Her statement on 18th April this year is part of the court documents from the case which El Nacional has had access to.
Carme Forcadell told the judge that the only violence during the process was that on the day of the referendum itself, which no one was expecting. Her testimony in April lasted just over half an hour and she only responded to questions from her lawyer. She argued that "the public has the right to take part in mobilisations, to express itself and to defend its basic rights". She also denounced to the court that her rights are being violated and called on the judge to grant her bail or unconditional release.
The judge ignored that.