Catalonia: Pursue of Independence and Arrest of Leaders for Political Reasons
Pro-independence leaders Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva, who also served vice-president and foreign affairs minister of Catalonia respectively currently face trial for charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of funds. Alleging that the leaders always acted through democratic and peaceful means in the pursue for the Catalan independence, their lawyer argues that the judiciary system is being used to systematically persecute the independence movement.
The article below was published by the Catalan News:
Jailed pro-independence leaders Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva refuse charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of funds, for which they will face trial in the coming weeks, and demand their acquittal.
In their statement of defense, obtained by TV3 and confirmed by Catalan News, their lawyer argues that both politicians have always been "democrats and pacifists".
Both leaders, a former vice president and the former foreign affairs minister, are currently in pre-trial jail. In the statement, they ask again for their release in order to be able to properly prepare their defense and get a "fair trial."
In the defense statement, the lawyer argues that the politicians are being unfairly targeted for political reasons. "This trial is an example of the instrumentalization of the judiciary to persecute a movement that, through peaceful means, seeks a legitimate political goal in a democracy."
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