"We would do it again." That's the crystal-clear assertion that opens the letter from jailed Catalan activists Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, read on Thursday at the demonstration to mark the one-year anniversary of the events which were used as the reason for their arrest - the mass protest outside the Catalan economy ministry in Barcelona on September 20th, 2017. In the letter, the two civil leaders denounce that "our jailing is as unfair as our trial" and demand the closure of their case: "Dropping of the charge or acquittal is the only just way out of all this legal mess" .
"Sooner or later their lies and injustice will fall," the 'Jordis' assert, adding that "when this happens, we will remain upright, smiling and determined to follow the path, shoulder to shoulder with you, to democratically win the right to be a Republic and live in a country where liberties and democracy will never again be cheapened."
In the letter, read before demonstrators who had gathered to protest about the demonstration exactly a year ago, Sànchez and Cuixart defend last year's mobilization and say it was a show of "personal and collective dignity".
"The success of the referendum on October 1st began to be forged that day when tens of thousands of people over hours and hours showed personal dignity, collective determination and a civic, non-violent conviction that has rarely been seen", continues the letter, asserting that "September 20th was the portent of October 1st."
"That night we knew for sure that we would vote simply because we were determined to do so, because we were unstoppable, and that by voting we would win the struggle against the threats, fear, silence and violence that the state imposed on us," says the text.
The demonstration not only demanded the release of the Catalan political prisoners - as well as the two 'Jordis', seven other Catalan leaders have been held behind bars for months - but also recalled the events of 20th September 2017, when the Civil Guard raided several Catalan government offices and 14 senior Catalan civil servants were detained. Thousands of people gathered in Barcelona in front of the Catalan ministry of the economy, one of the key locations raided, at the central intersection of Rambla Catalunya and Gran Vía.
A wealth of documentary evidence has been presented to refute the Spanish prosecution claims that the two activists' actions that day constituted a crime of violent rebellion, and to show that far from encouraging violence, Sànchez and Cuixart worked hard to prevent it.