The Spanish Supreme Court on Monday (October 14th) sentenced nine of the twelve Catalans tried for their role in Catalonia's attempt to secede in 2017 to terms ranging from 9 to 13 years in prison for sedition and misappropriation of public funds.

These sentences are well below those demanded by the prosecutor's office, which had taken up to 25 years in prison for former Regional Vice President Oriol Junqueras. The high court has not retained the leader of "rebellion", considered a crime against the Constitution and is punishable by harsher penalties (up to 25 years in prison).

In addition to the sedition leader, four of the convicts are also guilty of "embezzlement of public funds". Three of the twelve leaders tried in this historic trial were sentenced for "civil disobedience", no prison sentence was pronounced against them.

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont denounced on Monday an "aberration" after the condemnation of Catalan independenceists, saying it was "time to react".

"100 years in prison, an aberration, now more than ever, by your side and those of your families, it's time to react like never before, for the future of our sons and daughters. For Europe, for Catalonia ", wrote the independentist leader who lives in Belgium after the failed attempt at secession in 2017.

The President of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent, echoed: "Today we are all condemned, this sentence is an attack on democracy and the rights of all citizens," he said.

Separatist groups, demanding the acquittal of the twelve leaders, called for widespread acts of civil disobedience.

With AFP and Reuters