Supporters of the Catalan political prisoners, Oriol Junqueras, Joaquim Forn and the Jordis, have this Friday sent a letter to Pope Francis I to ask him to, as a man of peace, make representations to the Spanish government with the aim of achieving the release of the four prisoners and the return of acting president Puigdemont and the four ministers from Brussels, reports Avantguarda.cat.
In the letter, the pope is asked to help free the prisoners from Estremera (Junqueras and Forn) and Soto del Real (Sànchez and Cuixart), given that they're there accused of organising a referendum which "Spain didn't want to negotiate". They also call for him to help ensure the return of president Puigdemont and ministers Toni Comín, Clara Ponsatí, Meritxell Serret and Lluís Puig from Brussels. It notes that the Spanish government suspended a number of Catalan institutions using article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and called an "unjust election".
The main reason they give for asking for the release of the prisoners and the return of the exiled ministers is that in that election, on 21st December, independence parties beat pro-union parties in both total seats and total votes. Finally they tell the Pope that none of the mentioned ministers are guilty of any crime, that they are "democrats, peaceful and pacifists" and not "criminals, nor rapists, nor paedophiles, nor murderers, nor corrupt".