Pro-independence leaders to arrive in Catalan prisons on Wednesday

Nine pro-independence leaders will be transferred back to Catalan prisons on Wednesday after sitting in the dock for four months in Spain’s Supreme Court, in Madrid.

In one of Spain’s most crucial trials in decades, some of Catalonia’s most influential politicians and activists defended themselves from accusations of violent rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds for their role in the 2017 independence bid.

After 52 sessions, the cross-examination of 12 defendants, and 422 witnesses, Supreme Court judges are not expected to issue a final verdict until September.

With some pro-independence leaders having spent over 20 months in preemptive imprisonment, judges have repeatedly refused to let them free, but accepted transferring them from Madrid to Catalan prisons once they’re no longer required to attend trial hearings.

For the seven men jailed in Madrid's Soto del Real, the 3-day transfer will begin on Monday afternoon, with two stops on the way to Catalonia. The two women will leave Madrid's Alcalá Meco and arrive in Catalonia on Wednesday.