A SCOTS academic who backs Catalan independence has revealed a deeply personal response he received to his letter of support from one of Catalonia’s political prisoners, Raul Romeva.

Professor John Atkinson has written several times to all the prisoners who are awaiting the verdict in their trial over the 2017 independence referendum, but the reply from Romeva, the former Catalan foreign affairs spokesperson, took him by surprise.

Romeva penned a personal response in the form of a cartoon with speech bubbles, in which he said: “We feel really honoured to have so many supports [sic] from all over the world, and yours is one of the more appreciated ... For us it is very important that everybody understands that ours is a peaceful democratic and legitimate demand.

“Whatever will happen (that we expect by autumn) we will keep our path.”

A reply to another of Atkinson’s letters from Jordi Cuixart, the president of Omnium Cultural, read: “I apologise, if I could not answer you personally; just in the first months in Soto del Real [prison], I received more than 14,000 letters.”

Atkinson, who specialises in the English language and academic coaching, told The National: “Since their imprisonment last year I have written a few times to all the Catalan political prisoners, including Christmas cards from our SNP branch at Bishopbriggs.

“It is a humbling and uplifting experience to know that one can make a small difference to people who have so much on their minds and who are – at present – in an endless situation, as nobody knows exactly what will happen.”