ORIOL Junqueras has said that jailing him and the other independence leaders will only galvanise the movement and that another referendum is inevitable.
The remarks from Junqueras – the former Catalan vice-president who was given a 13-year prison sentence for his role in the 2017 independence referendum – came yesterday after a young man lost his eye when he was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police trying to suppress protests in Barcelona over Monday’s sentences.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday urged the SNP conference to send “support and our solidarity” to those who were jailed.
Spain’s Supreme Court convicted Junqueras and eight others of sedition and handed down sentences ranging from nine to 13 years, which triggered protests across the wealthy north-eastern state.
YES DIY: Catalan Minister to speak at Radical Independence conference next week
In his first interview since being sentenced, Junqueras told Reuters: “This sentence will not weaken the independence movement, quite the contrary.
“We’re not going to stop thinking what we think, ideals can’t be derailed by [jail] sentences.”
The court withdrew the most serious charge of rebellion, but the length of the jail terms – which Junqueras said they planned to appeal against in a European court – prompted outrage in Catalonia.
On Monday and yesterday, demonstrators blocked major roads and railways and thousands of protesters – under the Democratic Tsunami banner – descended on Barcelona’s international airport, where Spain’s National Police Corps (CNP) officers were filmed beating them with riot batons in scenes reminiscent of their violence during the indyref.
“Never, never, never have separatists acted violently, never,” added Junqueras.
“What I’m sure of is that this conflict is to be resolved via ballot boxes ... we are convinced that sooner or later a referendum is inevitable because otherwise, how can we give a voice to the citizens?”
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Asked what message he had for the independence movement after the sentencing, Junqueras said: “That prison and exile have made us stronger and makes us ever more convinced, if that is possible, in our profoundly democratic beliefs.”
He said he and the others planned to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Sturgeon, meanwhile, told her party conference in Aberdeen: “As First Minister, I understand only too well the importance of the rule of law. And of standing up for it in these troubled times.
“But any law that sends politicians to prison for organising a vote is a law that surely needs to change.
“The politicians and activists from Catalonia given prison sentences yesterday by a Spanish court are peaceful campaigners for the right to self-determination. Just like we are.
“I can’t imagine what they and their families are going through. But I do ask you to join me today in sending them our support and our solidarity.”
READ MORE: First Minister says she is 'appalled' by outcome of Catalonia trial
The CNP admitted that in the operation to disperse protests at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, officers fired rubber bullets, which were banned by the Catalan Parliament in 2013.
The man who lost his eye is a 22-year-old who was hit during the airport protest. He has undergone emergency surgery in a Barcelona hospital, where sources said his eyeball “burst” in an injury “consistent with a rubber bullet”.
Health officials said six people were injured by rubber bullets fired by police at the airport.
An airport spokesperson said it had cancelled more than 110 flights on Monday and 45 yesterday, affecting thousands of passengers.
In a response to the severity of the sentences, Amnesty International said: “We are studying the sentence, which is extensive and covers both substantive and procedural issues, which requires careful work. We will not make assessments until finished.”
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