BARCELONA, Spain — Two leaders of Catalonia’s separatist movement who have spent the last year in prison started a hunger strike on Saturday to protest what they claim is the unfair treatment by Spanish courts. Sanchez and Turull are being held in a prison near Barcelona, the largest city in the Catalonia region. They have been kept behind bars with authorities saying they pose a risk of continuing to push for secession and fleeing Spain like other separatist leaders, including former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. Catalonia’s current separatist leaders insist they won’t desist in their effort to break away from the rest of Spain. Election results and polls show that the 7.5 million resident of the wealthy Catalonia region are roughly equally divided by the secession issue.

Source: National Post December 01, 2018 11:52 UTC