LIVE: Demonstration in Barcelona for the release of prisoners and the return of leaders abroad

Nearly six months to the day have passed since the imprisonment of the grassroots pro-independence activists Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, the last presidential candidate. They were arrested by the Spanish police for their roles in the independence roadmap of Catalonia. To mark the occasion, a platform made up of various organizations in favor of Catalan state have called for a march to take place on April 15, in the heart of Barcelona.

Since the incarceration of Cuixart and Sànchez, other members of the pro-independence movement have been detained and sentenced to preventive incarceration. These include the deposed vice-president Oriol Junqueras, and Jordi Turull, who was briefly a candidate for presidency before his second arrest. Other Catalan leaders held in custody include additional dismissed cabinet members Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull, Raül Romeva, and Dolors Bassa, as well as former parliament speaker Carme Forcadell. 

Meanwhile, other members of pro-independence parties, such as the deposed president Carles Puigdemont himself, Anna Gabriel, Marta Rovira, Meritxell Serret, Lluís Puig, Clara Ponsatí and Toni Comín are abroad, as they've stated they fear that they will not receive a fair trial in Spanish courts should they return. The April 15 protest is also to demand they be able to return home.