“We never imagined that something like this could happen in the European Union,” said SNP MP Gavin Newlands

A DELEGATION of MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia today [18 September] met with the seven Catalan political prisoners being held at Lledoners prison, awaiting trial for their involvement in the outlawed Catalan independence referendum of 2017.

“Our government has committed to making the republic a reality,” Catalan President Quim Torra said ahead of the mass mobilisation

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets of Barcelona to celebrate Catalonia’s National Day of Diada and show their support for independence, despite a heavy police presence.

Speaking at the Beyond Borders festival during a surprise visit to Scotland, Puigdemont emphasised that a Francoist culture persists in the Spanish “deep state”

FORMER CATALAN PRESIDENT Carles Puigdemont spoke to CommonSpace about his ideas for a radical transformation of the Spanish authorities and system of government in order to rid them of the “shadow of Francoism”.

Ponsati’s legal team remains “on standby” against possibility that a European Arrest Warrant could be reissued

THE EUROPEAN ARREST WARRANT for exiled former Catalan minister Clara Ponsati was officially withdrawn today [23 June] at Edinburgh’s Sheriff Court, following the Spanish Supreme Court’s decision to drop its attempts at extradition last week.

Following their meeting at Bute House, both leaders agreed that in “21st century Europe issues of self-determination must ultimately be addressed through democratic referendums”

CATALAN ACTIVISTS have welcomed the outcome of the historic meeting between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Catalan President Quim Torra yesterday [11 June], characterising the symbolic strengthening of ties between the two nations as “a great achievement.”

Call from Scottish activists follows meeting between the Catalan President Quim Torra and new Spanish Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

THE CATALAN DEFENCE COMMITTEE (CDC) SCOTLAND has called on the Scottish and UK Governments, as well as opposition parties, to apply political pressure to the Spanish Government to endorse a recognised referendum on Catalan independence, on the even of new Catalan President Quim Torra meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh.

Meeting will be first between Catalan president and first minister of Scotland since 2014

THE president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, will visit the former Catalan government minister and exile Clara Ponsati and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland next week.

"President Quim Torra has confirmed that he will meet with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez on 9 July 9 and then arrive in Scotland on 10 July to meet with Professor Clara Ponsatí," Aamer Anwar, Ponsati’s lawyer, said in a statement quoted in La Vanguardia.

The German courts’ decision marks the latest setback in Spain’s attempt to prosecute exiled Catalan politicians

SPANISH ATTEMPTS to extradite former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont have faced a major roadblock, as the German court overseeing the case has turned down requests from the prosecution that Puigdemont be incarcerated in pretrial prison while his European Arrest Warrant is assessed.