Accused leaders defended civil disobedience, non-violence, and parliamentary immunity in the Catalan trial today. The leader of the grassroots Òmnium organization said the independence referendum was the biggest exercise of civil disobedience in Europe. He called all demonstrations in 2017 peaceful. Meanwhile, the former parliament speaker, Carme Forcadell, said she allowed votes on independence on the grounds of freedom of speech. The Catalan president attended the session.