FILE PHOTO: Dismissed Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras arrives to Spain’s High Court after being summoned to testify on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for defying the central government by holding a referendum on secession and proclaiming independence, in Madrid, Spain, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho/File Photo
February 1, 2018
LONDON (Reuters) – Three Catalan independence leaders have lodged their case with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, claiming the custodial prison sentence they are serving in Madrid is unlawful, their lawyers said in a statement ahead of a press conference in London.
Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart are accused of sedition for their roles in a secession drive in the northeastern Spanish region that involved an October illegal referendum on a split from Spain and a subsequent declaration of independence.
(Reporting By Liz O’Leary, Writing by Sonya Dowsett, Editing by Paul Day)
