MADRID, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Catalan leader Artur Mas spent an hour in court in Barcelona on Thursday answering charges of disobedience relating to the unofficial independence referendum held in the region on Nov. 9, 2014.
The vote, which Mas has described as "an act of democratic rebellion," went ahead with 2.3 million of Catalonia's 7.5 million people voting in schools and colleges in the region, despite Spain's Constitutional Court having ruled earlier that it should not be held.
If found guilty of disobedience, Mas, who is acting leader of the Catalan regional assembly in the wake of the Sept. 27 regional elections, could be barred from public office.
The Sept. 27 elections saw the pro-independence block, made up of Mas' coalition "Junts Pel Si" (Together for Yes) and the left-wing CUP party, win an overall majority of seats, but fail to claim 50 percent of the votes cast.
Mas had promised to immediately initiate moves towards Catalan independence if the pro-independence vote won a majority, although that is now unlikely to happen after CUP admitted there was still no mandate for such a move.
He was indicted to make Thursday's court appearance just two days after the election, although the Spanish government insists it had nothing to do with the timing of the decision.
Around 3,000 people, including 400 local majors, were present to show their support for Mas as he entered the court.
