The UN Human Rights Committee stated Spain “had violated the political rights of former Catalan authorities and parliament members by suspending them from public duties previous to a conviction following the independence referendum in 2017.” Spain had prosecuted and sentenced Oriol Junqueras i Vies, former vice-president of Catalonia, and three former ministers, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Josep Rull i Andreu and Jordi Turull i Negre.