On 1st October 2017 2.3 million Catalans took part in a referendum on independence, inspired by those held in Scotland (2014) and Quebec (1980, 1995). Sadly, unlike the United Kingdom and Canada, the Spanish government decided to respond with repression:

961 people brutally injured by the Spanish police: there has been no investigation and the head of the operation was promoted.

by the Spanish police: there has been no investigation and the head of the operation was promoted. 2 civil society leaders and 7 political leaders were imprisoned and later sentenced to serve 9-13 years in prison.

and later sentenced to serve 9-13 years in prison. 7 political representatives went into exile in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland.

in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland. Over 1,000 people are still being investigated for organising the referendum.

Jordi Cuixart, one of the imprisoned civil society leaders, is the president of Òmnium Cultural, a Barcelona-based NGO dealing with culture and civil rights with more than 180.000 members. He has been sentenced to serve 9 years in prison, accused of ‘sedition’ for calling a peaceful demonstration in support of the referendum, exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

Leading human rights organisations like Amnesty International, the World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line Defenders and international bodies like the United Nations – Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have called on the Spanish authorities to immediately release of the Catalan leaders, since they always exercised their rights: freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right to peacefully protest.

Help us to end this injustice. Political issues can’t be resolved by police brutality or prison. First, the Catalan political prisoners should be amnestied. Second, the Spanish and the Catalan governments should engage in a dialogue process to find a democratic solution.

If you believe in freedom and democracy,