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Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel heads an international petition to the Spanish government to release the Catalan political prisoners. The signatories include figures from the worlds of politics, academia and culture, the majority from South America.

The letter congratulates Pedro Sánchez on becoming Spain's new prime minister and wish him success. "The reason for this letter is to request him to urgently release the Catalan political prisoners, who are accused over the sole crime of peacefully demanding self-determination for their people. This democratic right is included in the United Nations International Bill of Human Rights," they write.

Violation of human rights 

The international request, which El Nacional has had access to, goes further and calls for the start of an open dialogue without conditions: "We want to remind him that it was his party, led by Pablo Iglesias, which, in 1918, introduced this political concept to Spain at its Madrid congress. We consider it inappropriate and a violation of human rights to keep these citizens in prison. We believe that their release and the start of an open dialogue without conditions can open the path to peaceful coexistence".

So far, the letter has been signed by:

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Manolo Pichardo, president of COPPPAL.
Stella Calloni, political scientist, Argentina.
Atilio Boron, political scientist, Argentina.
Milagro Sala, social leader, Argentina.
Alicia Muñoz, former senator, former cabinet minister, Bolivia.
Narciso Isa Conde, Movimiento Camañista-Izquierda Revolucionaria, Dominican Republic.
Lois Pérez Leira, international analyst, Dominican Republic.
Oscar Laborde, Parlasur MP, Argentina.
Rafael Méndez, Partido de la Liberación Dominicana MP.
Eduardo Sigal, vice-president of Frente Grande, Argentina.
Manuel Maria Mercedes, president of the National Commission on Human Rights, Dominican Republic.
Osvaldo Chato Peredo, politician, Bolivia.
Julio Gambina, president of SEPLA.
Jorge Kreiness, leader of Partido Comunista, Argentina.
Luis D. Elías, president of Partido MILES, Argentina.
César Montes Guatemala, president of Fundación Luis Augusto Turcios Lima.
Edgardo Depetri, former MP, Argentina.
Pablo Monsanto (Jorge Soto), secretary general of Partido Convergencia, Guatemala.
Héctor Fernandez, secretary general of Organización Peronismo Militante.
Jorge Rivas, former MP and president of Partido Socialista para la Victoria.
Luis Botzoc Xol, vice-president of Fundación Luis Augusto Turcios Lima.
Juan Compris, MP, Dominican Republic.
Adrian Ramírez López, president of the Mexican League for the Defence of Human Rights.
Carlos Pronzato, filmmaker, Brazil.
Julián Lacacta, teacher and politician, Peru.
Alberto Nadra, journalist and writer.
Leonel Falcón, journalist, Peru.
Carlos Aznárez, journalist, Argentina.
José Schulman, national secretary of the Argentinian League for Human Rights.
Víctor Mendibil, Comisión Provincial de la Memoria, Argentina.
Sergio Ortiz, secretary general of Partido de la Liberación de Argentina.
Luis Fernández Ageitos, president of Asociación de Taxistas de la Capital, Argentina.
Daniel De Santis, editor of the newspaper Rojo Amanecer.
José Guzmán, lawyer, vice-president of the National Commission of Human Rights, Dominican Republic.
Annalisa Melandri, human rights activist and journalist.