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British newspaper The Independent has described how Spanish repression in Catalonia, and in particular the imprisonment of the pro-independence political leaders, is serving to make the independence movement stronger. This is one of the main themes in a report on the Catalan conflict centred on an interview with jailed Òmnium Cultural president Jordi Cuixart, who says that "prison has become a loudspeaker."

"I'm in no rush to leave. I’m never going to beg for pardon for exercising fundamental rights," says Cuixart. The newspaper notes that his two-month-old son will be seven when his father has served his full sentence. "I want to leave prison with the peace of mind that I’ve done my duty," he says.

jordi cuixart the independent

"I am not a politician in prison, I am a political prisoner who uses jail to denounce Spain’s human rights violations. Prison has simply become a loudspeaker,” Cuixart tells the newspaper.

"The cause of self-determination in Catalonia is no different to other citizen causes that fight for a fairer, more democratic future, as we’ve seen in Chile, Lebanon and Hong Kong. The only thing the state’s repression achieves is to strengthen our democratic convictions,” adds the Omnium president.

In the report, The Independent also reports on how the intensity of protests has grown since the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the prisoners and the paper also refers to the pro-independence parties' results in the Spanish election on November 10th. "The pro-independence parties have just achieved their best result in a Spanish general election." "They now have 23 of the 48 deputies elected in Catalonia, an all-time high," notes the article.