In a letter sent to Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez AI says that they will ensure that the prisoners will have a fair trial

Amnesty International warns that it will closely examine the trial of the leaders of the self-determination movement in order to assess the fulfillment of fair trial guarantees. The NGO once again calls for the immediate release of both leaders and assures that preventive imprisonment is a measure that “violates the right to freedom of expression and free assembly.”

In a letter sent by the entity to the president of Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, and Jordi Sànchez, the director of Amnesty International in Europe, Fotis Filippou, expresses “support and solidarity” in the face of the injustice that preventive prison represents for both political prisoners and their families. Amnesty International considers this situation “unjustifiable” and will continue to denounce it until Cuixart and Sànchez “are released and without charge.” Due to all this, the entity insists that it will follow the trial in order to ensure that it is a fair procedure and announces actions that are expected to have a positive impact on the situations of Cuixart and Sànchez.

This is the third time that Amnesty International publicly positions itself against the imprisonment of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez. They also did so in October, on the first anniversary of their pretrial detention. In a statement, the NGO stated that there was “no justification” to keep them in custody and reaffirmed their call for them to be “immediately released.” Amnesty believes that the continued detention of Cuixart and Sànchez is a disproportionate restriction of fundamental rights. In October 2017, only two days after the imprisonment of the President of Òmnium Cultural and the former president of the ANC, AI appealed to the Spanish authorities to withdraw the charges of sedition initially put forth and end their preventive imprisonment.