Several events were held outside the three prisons hosting Catalan pro-independence leaders during the festive season to remember and support the nine politicians and activists behind bars.

On January 1, in the evening, hundreds gathered outside Lledoners penitentiary center, where seven out of the nine jailed leaders are incarcerated.

The rally coincided with an event in which every evening an anonymous activist says 'bona nit' (or 'good night,' in English) to each of the nine leaders outside Lledoners with a megaphone –a voice by some of them saying 'bona nit' in response is sometimes heard. The activist uses the nickname Joan BonaNit.

The daily event was not only unique because more people than usual gathered, but also because the former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, joined via video along with the former minister Toni Comín. Both of them are in exile in Belgium.

"We are sadly living the reality of Spain," says Puigdemont

"What we are living is not a nightmare. It is sadly the reality of Spain, which failed to reform towards a democracy, and which was absolutely incapable to move towards a plural state," said Puigdemont to the crowd.