“We have political prisoners again,” says Catalan president

The imprisonment of the leaders of the main two pro-independence organizations in Catalonia has sparked a widespread condemnation from politicians across the spectrum. “Spain jails Catalonia's civil society leaders for organising peaceful demonstrations,” tweeted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. “Sadly, we have political prisoners again.”

Catalan Parliament president Carme Forcadell referred to the resolution as an “atrocity” and said that for the Spanish government “dialogue means prison without bail.” Barcelona mayor Ada Colau called it a “barbarity” and a “big mistake” that makes political dialogue even harder. The Socialist leader in Catalonia, Miquel Iceta, deemed the decision as “disproportionate”.

Catalan National Assembly president

Shortly after the resolution, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) released a statement from its president, Jordi Sánchez. “What this act does is try to frighten us, to punish us, for defending freedom and for having taken to the streets as peacefully as we have been doing for such a long time," Sánchez stated.