A hearing was held today by Spain's Supreme Court to determine whether it is competent to hear the trial following last year's Catalan independence referendum. The prosecutions, expected to play hard line, made their case in less than half an hour in total, with some speeches lasting less than five minutes.
The Spanish government's legal advisory service, who spoke after public prosecutors, was brief, but blunter.
They had no prepared remarks as to why the case should be heard by the Supreme Court; they spent their time responding to the defence's arguments.
"According to the defence, what was done abroad was only preparatory actions, but not even they have been able to deny that, however small they were, they existed", said Lucia Pedreño on behalf of the legal service.
"The facts exist", she said, responding to the defence's argument that independence was never implemented and that their clients' actions were in preparation. "The facts exist and are sufficient to give this court competence," she continued.
She then argued that there was a "preconceived plan" to proclaim the Catalan republic and that "the independence they wanted to declare affects the whole country".
Pedreño also defended the mass accusations: "Competency norms haven't been violated nor bent to take the case to the Supreme Court".