UN Working Group Asks for Release of 3 Jailed Catalans

A banner reading in Catalan: "Freedom political and exiled prisoners" hangs from the balcony of the Palau Generalitat, in Sant Jaume square in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 27, 2019. The lower chamber of Spain's Parliament on Friday suspended Oriol Junqueras and three colleagues from their recently gained seats as national lawmakers because they are currently in jail during an ongoing trial at Spain's Supreme Court. They face up to 25 years in prison for rebellion charges that stem from a banned referendum and an independence declaration made by the separatist-controlled Catalan government in late 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MADRID (AP) — The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has asked Spain to seek the release from pretrial jail of three Catalan separatists detained following Catalonia’s 2017 secession attempt.

In an opinion to be published later Wednesday but seen by The Associated Press, the working group says that former Catalan regional vice president, Oriol Junqueras, lawmaker Jordi Sànchez and activist Jordi Cuixart were arbitrarily detained and their rights violated.

The three, who are considered a flight risk by Spanish authorities, are among a dozen separatist leaders on trial at Spain’s Supreme Court on a number of charges, including rebellion.

The working group is made up of five independent, non-paid experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. The opinion matters for those countries mindful of international commitments.

Categories / Civil Rights, Government, International

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