The Spanish Supreme Court sentenced 9 former leaders of the Catalan independence movement to lengthy prison terms (9 – 13 years) after finding them guilty of sedition for their botched attempt to break away from Spain in 2017.
The former deputy leader of Catalonia, Oriol Junqueras, received the toughest sentence: 13 years in prison.
Madrid dismissed the Catalan government in 2017. The reason was the referendum on the independence of Catalonia and the organization of large-scale protests.