Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont remains defiantly in self-imposed exile and has condemned Spanish authorities for staging a witch hunt against him and his cohorts.
The entire Catalan leadership is due in Madrid to face allegations of sedition after its doomed declaration of independence on Oct. 27, and officials could face up to 30 years in prison.
In a statement from Brussels late on Wednesday, Puigdemont called it a "political trial" without legal basis and with disproportionate penalties usually reserved for murder or terrorism.