Jailed leader says ‘trial will weigh heavily in Spain’s history’

The leader of ERC party, Oriol Junqueras, has said that the trial against him and some other 20 officials over the independence push last October and the sentence “will weigh heavily in Spain’s history.”

In an interview with Diari ARA newspaper, Junqueras, who has been in pre-trial jail for over a year, he also reacted to the proposed 25-year prison sentence by the Spanish general prosecutor

“Any sentence other than absolution will be an unfair sentence,” he said.

Asked about his expectations ahead of the trial, he claimed that he has no fear to facing the judges, and he said that the trial will be “an opportunity” to explain that the jailed leaders are innocent.

“We have to turn the trial into a lever, in the quintessential educational element,” he added.