Inside the Catalan parliament, yellow ribbons symbolise the former government members who were prosecuted over the failed 2017 independence bid
Inside the Catalan parliament, yellow ribbons symbolise the former government members who were prosecuted over the failed 2017 independence bid AFP / Josep LAGO

Twelve Catalan separatist leaders, most of them members of the former regional government, were convicted by Spain's Supreme Court on Monday for their role in a controversial independence bid in 2017.

Nine of them were handed jail terms and three were fined.

The defendants included nine ex-ministers, the parliamentary speaker and key figures in Catalonia's biggest pro-independence grassroots organisations who were all put on trial for their role in organising the banned October 1, 2017 referendum.

Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, seen on the left, was the main defendant after Carles Puigdemont, who was president at the time, fled Spain to avoid prosecution
Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, seen on the left, was the main defendant after Carles Puigdemont, who was president at the time, fled Spain to avoid prosecution AFP / Josep LAGO

Catalan vice president: 13 years

Oriol Junqueras, who became the main defendant after former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution, was handed a 13-year jail term for sedition and misuse of public funds.

Former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell was one of nine people charged with rebellion
Former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell was one of nine people charged with rebellion AFP / Pau Barrena

Prosecutors had called for a 25-year sentence on the more serious grounds of rebellion.

A former historian who heads the leftwing ERC party, Junqueras, 50, was charged by Puigdemont with organising the referendum which was followed by a short-lived declaration of independence.

Known as "the Jordis", two influential civic leaders were also tried for rebellion: former ANC head Jordi Sanchez, on the right, and Jordi Cuixart, who runs Omnium Cultural
Known as "the Jordis", two influential civic leaders were also tried for rebellion: former ANC head Jordi Sanchez, on the right, and Jordi Cuixart, who runs Omnium Cultural AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS

Arrested in November 2017, this portly politician, who has been a lifelong supporter of Catalan independence, has spent nearly two years in pre-trial detention.

Joaquim Forn was Catalan interior minister at the time of the referendum with responsibility for regional policing
Joaquim Forn was Catalan interior minister at the time of the referendum with responsibility for regional policing AFP / PAU BARRENA

Parliament speaker: 11.5 years

Like Junqueras, Carme Forcadell, the former speaker of the Catalan regional parliament, was convicted of sedition, with the 64-year-old handed a sentence of 11 years and six months.

A former head of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), a civil society group responsible for organising mass pro-independence rallies, Forcadell was accused of ignoring legal warnings about pushing through laws which laid the ground for the referendum and for secession.

Former speaker Carme Forcadell, seen on the left, with Dolors Bassa who held the labour portfolio, and Raul Romeva, who was Catalan foreign minister
Former speaker Carme Forcadell, seen on the left, with Dolors Bassa who held the labour portfolio, and Raul Romeva, who was Catalan foreign minister AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS

Grassroots leaders: 9 years

The Supreme Court also handed sentences of nine years to Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, two influential civic leaders who were convicted of sedition for calling huge rallies to try and stop the police from following a court order to halt the referendum.

Known as 'Los Jordis', the pair were repeatedly flagged up by the separatists as "political prisoners", with Amnesty International calling for their release, denouncing the charges against them as "unfounded".

At the time of the referendum, Sanchez, now 55, was head of the ANC, while Cuixart, 44, was and still is leader of Omnium Cultural.

Both were placed in pre-trial detention on October 16, 2017 for calling a demonstration outside a public building as it was being searched by police, preventing them from leaving. Nobody was hurt but several police cars were damaged.

Regional ministers: 10.5- 12 years jail

Five former regional ministers were handed sentences ranging from 10 years and six months to 12 years.

Among them were Joaquim Forn, 55, who -- as Catalan interior minister at the time -- was responsible for regional policing and let the referendum go ahead.

Also in the dock were Josep Rull, 51, Raul Romeva, 48, Dolors Bassa, 60, and Jordi Turull, 53.

Three others: 60,000-euro fine

Three other former regional ministers, who faced lesser charges, escaped jail time and were handed fines of around 60,000 euro ($66,000).

Santi Vila, 46, resigned from the Catalan government on the eve of the independence declaration in late October 2017; Carles Mundo, 43, and Meritxell Borras, 55.

Criminal Law