Die Linke leader says Catalan leaders 'can't be jailed for political reasons'

The co-leader of the Die Linke party in Germany, Bernd Riexinger, has called for the release of all Catalan leaders in jail.

In comments to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) from Barcelona, where he held a meeting with Foreign Affairs minister Ernest Maragall and ERC MEP Jordi Solé, he said all nine jailed leaders "must be free".

"These politicians must be free. Someone can't be jailed for political motives, for a political reason," he said.

According to Riexinger, putting politicians in prison is "a repressive act by the central Spanish government."

The German politician also said that he is confident his country won't extradite Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who is currently living freely there after being arrested last March following a European Arrest Warrant.  

The Die Linke co-leader urged Catalonia and Spain to find a "consensus" to solve the current political crisis.

Riexinger said that "repression" should never be an answer, and although he insisted he is against independence, he added that there should be "negotiations" between Madrid and Barcelona.

According to him, Europeans "don't understand" why Spain "repressed" the pro-independence movement.

He said that in other European countries "there is no crime such as rebellion", the charge that pro-independence leaders are currently facing, and which could mean more than 30 years in jail for them.

"Spain it's an exception, that's so reactionary," he said.