Ousted Catalan leaders attend court as Puigdemont stays in Brussels

Nine former members of the Catalonia regional government have appeared at a high court hearing in Madrid to answer charges of rebellion.

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is not among those who have travelled to Madrid to face the courts, after refusing to leave Belgium until he receives "guarantees" on his charges.

Local authorities organised and carried out an independence referendum in the region on 1 October, even after Spain's constitutional court declared the vote illegal, which was marred by violence .

Judges were expected to decide on Thursday whether former deputy president Oriol Junqueras and eight other members of the government should go to jail while an investigation into their actions proceeds.

They were also set to announce what the consequences are of Puigdemont and four others' 'no-show' would be.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday in support of Spanish unity, while pro-independence groups called for acts of civil disobedience by civil servants.

Previously, Madrid had called for elections in Catalonia on 21 December, with polls suggesting nationalist parties might lose their overall majority in the local parliament.