A RALLY was held outside the Scottish Parliament in support of democracy in Catalonia, the day its population went to the polls.

Green and SNP MSPs yesterday joined demonstrators, including Catalans living in Scotland, to protest against the jailing of political prisoners in Spain.

Following the independence referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament in October, Madrid sacked the Catalan Government and dissolved parliament.

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Eight of the region’s politicians were jailed and ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont remains in self-imposed exile in Belgium after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Spanish Government.

At the start of this month six of those eight were released on bail by a Spanish supreme court judge, but two high-profile figures – Puigdemont’s deputy Oriol Junqueras and Catalan ex-interior minister Joaquim Forn – remain in jail.

The SNP’s Sandra White, who was in Barcelona for the Catalan independence referendum on October 1, was joined outside Holyrood by fellow MSPs Gillian Martin, James Dornan and Emma Harper, amongst others.

White on Wednesday told The National that some of her colleagues intended to show their solidarity with the Catalan political prisoners by wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol which has become synonymous with the independence drive.

It originated when Catalans began wearing scarves of the same colour to display their backing for Junqueras and Forn.

Spanish authorities then started to crack down on the wearing of the colour.

The previous day, SNP MPs showed their support by wearing yellow and Catriona Matheson, the party’s head of communications at Westminster, tweeted: “SNP MPs are wearing yellow in #PMQs today in support of Catalans ahead of their election tomorrow. Unbelievably, there has been a crackdown on the colour during the campaign. On a colour!”

National columnist George Kerevan was also in attendance outside yesterday and was pleased to see representatives from both parties come together in a show of solidarity.

“It was amazing to see so many Green and SNP MSPs turn out at [yesterday’s] demonstration, wearing yellow ribbons in protest at the jailing of political prisoners in Catalonia,” he said.

“The next phase of repression in Spain will be the sentencing of the Catalan Republican leaders for rebellion, so it is vital that the international protest movement continues.

“They need our help.”

Kerevan went on to describe the adverse impact the jailing of Catalan politicians has had on the regional elections taking place.

“The election in Catalonia is far from democratic,” he said. “Leading Catalan politicians have been denied the right to participate or stand.

“There has been widespread censorship of the Republican case.

“Even the IT firm chosen by Madrid to count the votes is known to be close to the ruling PP government.

“Spain is not a real democracy, which is why Catalonia must be free to determine its own future."