Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson has criticised moves by the Spanish authorities to jail nine Catalan Government officials for their role in the 2017 independence referendum.

Martina Anderson said:

“The jailing of nine Catalan officials is a dark day in Spanish judicial history and an attack on Catalan democracy.

“Exercising the right to democracy and self-determination is not a crime – over two million people voted in the Catalan independence referendum. It is completely legitimate.

“The Spanish authorities have acted disgracefully throughout this entire process – including the brutalising of voters and upholding politically motivated charges against elected leaders and blocking democratically elected MEPs from entering the EU Parliament.

“It’s time the European Union broke the silence and acted in the interests of the Catalan people and stood against this attack on the democratic process.”