Just over two years ago Catalonia was in a state of emergency. The independence aspirations of the region in northeastern Spain were at its peak. The Catalan government held a controversial referendum in which the population was to decide on a possible secession. Now nine separatist leaders have been sentenced to prison for this referendum.
Oriol Junqueras has to jail for up to 13 years. Spain's Supreme Court accuses the former vice president of Catalonia's uproar. Also, eight other separatists must go to prison, the lowest prison sentence is nine years. In addition, some of them guilty of embezzling public funds, it said.
Three other politicians were convicted only for disobedience - they escape detention.
The prosecution had demanded even higher penalties, they had demanded a conviction for rebellion. That would have meant prison stays of up to 25 years. But the judges saw that.
The independence referendum, held on October 1, 2017, had actually banned the Constitutional Court. The regional government in Barcelona nevertheless carried out the vote and then decided independence. Most of the defendants have been in custody for two years.
The trial had come to an end in mid-June after four months with the final pleadings of the defendants. Almost invariably, they called for dialogue and a political solution to the conflict in the region in the northeast of the country.
In total, nearly 600 witnesses were heard in the huge trial, including former Conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, during which the referendum was held. In the fall of 2017, Rajoy deposed the regional government and put Catalonia under receivership for months. The then regional chief Carles Puigdemont and other politicians fled to Belgium to escape arrest.
In Catalonia violent protests are feared by pro-independence activists. They accused the judiciary of making an example and regarded the convicted as "political prisoners". Puigdemont's successor Quim Torra is also combative and has called for a "massive mobilization". The number of security forces at the airport in Barcelona, as well as in the railway stations and ports in the region, was massively increased in advance of the ruling.
