Mayor banned from office for hanging independence flag during election

The mayor of the northern Catalan town of Berga, Montse Venturós, has been banned from public office for six months for not removing an independence flag from the city council.

A member of pro-independence CUP party, Venturós is accused of disobedience for her acts during two election campaigns in 2015. She deemed her trial to be “political” and asserted that “Spanish courts collude with the State and all forms of repression against the Catalan people.” The sentence can be appealed.

The Election Board ordered Venturós to remove the Catalan independence flag (known as estelada in Catalan) from the building’s balcony during two voting periods three years ago. Venturós rejected the petitions, maintaining that a majority of local councillors had voted in favor of hanging the flag.