Jailed Catalan independence leaders lodge case with UN

Three Catalan independence leaders have lodged their case with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, claiming the custodial prison sentence they are serving in Madrid is unlawful, their lawyers said in a statement ahead of a press conference in London.

Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart are accused of sedition for their roles in a secession drive in the northeastern Spanish region that involved an October illegal referendum on a split from Spain and a subsequent declaration of independence.