In Spain, a group of Catalan separatist leaders have been released from prison a day after they were pardoned. In 2017, the Spanish central government cracked down on the separatists following an independence referendum and the Catalan Parliament’s declaration of independence. Some of the freed leaders will still face a ban on holding public office. Political leaders who fled Spain are not included in the pardon. This is Pere Aragonès, president of the Government of Catalonia.

Pere Aragonès: “The decision taken today by the Spanish government is a recognition that the sentences were unjust. … It is time for amnesty and the right to self-determination.”