Protesters demand release of pro-independence activists after 5 months in prison

People took to the streets all across Catalonia on Friday to demand the immediate release of Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, two grassroots leaders imprisoned in Madrid for their role in the independence bid—that, on the day that marks five months since they were preemptively sent to jail.

“It’s been 151 days since they are held behind bars for their political ideas: defending Catalonia’s right to self-determination,” read the manifesto by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), one of the pro-independence groups calling the demonstration.

Cuixart and Sànchez face criminal charges of rebellion, which carry sentences of up to 30 years in prison. When they entered prison on October 16, they became the first pro-independence leaders to be preemptively jailed. So far, 12 people have been held behind bars at some point during the investigation. Four of them are still in prison: Cuixart, Sànchez, vice president Oriol Junqueras, and Home Affairs minister Joaquim Forn.