Activists jailed for 2017 independence push call for 'taking to streets' peacefully

The two activists jailed for the 2017 independence push, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, have called on the public to “take to the streets” in the expected upcoming protests organized by civic organizations – mobilizations are set to occur in October as a response of a potential guilty verdict on the imprisoned leaders, including Cuixart and Sànchez. 

In a joint letter from Lledoners prison in the eve of the day marking the 2017 referendum second anniversary, they called for backing the mobilizations while “not getting swept up in rage.” 

Non-violence

“The future will only be ours if we are able to keep alive the seed of non-violence,” their message reads. 

“On October 1, [2017] we learned how powerful exercising non-violence is,” they added. “It is the base holding our cause, which is none other than freedom and democracy.” 

For both activists, the independence movement must stay peaceful to achieve its aim. “Non-violence is the seed of a process that, if we continue moving forward together, without giving up or being scared, will bring, sooner or later, the desired fruit of freedom.” 

Accusing Spain of criminalizing independence movement

Cuixart and Sànchez also commented the latest provisional imprisonments of seven activists on terrorism charges accusing Spain of “building up new judicial procedures with spectacular detentions, and purposeful and false leakings in order to create a criminalizing narrative against the detainees and the independence movement in general.” 

“From prison, we share the outrage at these events, we are suffering from it first-hand and we are aware of the growing citizen concerns for the foul play imposed by the state,” they said. 

Awaiting verdict

Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez are two of the nine pro-independence jailed leaders awaiting their verdict after a four-month trial at Spain’s Supreme Court ending in June 2019. 

They are both facing rebellion allegations and the public prosecutors are requesting a 16-year prison sentence for them. 

So far they have spent almost two years in provisional jail.