This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
On October 14, 2019, Spain's Supreme Court handed down prison sentences to nine Catalan separatist leaders for their involvement in a failed 2017 independence bid.
The long-awaited verdicts were less severe than the prosecution's demands, with the court sentencing former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras to 13 years in prison for sedition and misuse of public funds.
Junqueras, who served as the main defendant in the absence of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, was one of 12 defendants put on trial in February for their role in the banned October 1, 2017 referendum and the short-lived independence declaration that followed.
Former parliamentary speaker Carme Forcadell was handed 11 years and six months in prison, while five other former ministers in the Catalan government were jailed for between 10 years and six months and 12 years.
Two influential Catalan civic leaders, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, were also sentenced to nine years in prison, while the remaining three leaders, who faced lesser charges, escaped jail time and were each handed a 60,000-euro (Sh7 million) fine.
The government hopes the ruling will allow it to turn the page on the crisis in the wealthy northeastern region, while the separatist movement sees the guilty verdicts as an opportunity to unite their divided ranks and bring supporters onto the streets.
