Catalan Society calls to a rally in the EU Parliament opening day in defence of the popular vote that made Catalan MEPs

A growing number of Catalan movements groups are joining a protest called at the European Parliament in Strasbourg - around 1000 kilometres from their home - initially prompted by the EU Parliament's action of preventing two Catalan MEPs-elect, Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín, from collecting their credentials as EU representatives on Wednesday.

The protest, scheduled for July 2nd and called by the Catalan exiles' body Council for the Republic, has now been joined by major pro-independence organization Catalan National Assembly (ANC) along with several other groups.

The Council for the Republic asked for a "mass demonstration of support for democracy and for the freedom of the political prisoners." The Council asserts that the EU chamber must not permit the exclusion of three Catalan MEPs elected on May 26th, referring to exiled president Carles Puigdemont, exiled minister Toni Comín and jailed vice president Oriol Junqueras.

Together for Catalonia (JxCat), the political party for which Carles Puidgdemont and Toni Comín won election, also confirmed they would attend "to defend the rights of the MEPs who people are trying to exclude and to assert the value of the over 2 million votes that they obtained." In addition, the pro-independence party demands that "the State stop the repression and release the political prisoners".