Pro-secession Catalans rally in Barcelona, slam police violence
Protesters have staged a rally in Catalonia’s capital of Barcelona, demanding independence from mainland Spain and denouncing police crackdown on demonstrations in the region.
Some 200 demonstrators marched Saturday on Sant Jaume Square where the headquarters of Catalonia’s local government is located.
The pro-secession protesters condemned police violence in earlier rallies, setting fire to an effigy of Catalan Interior Affairs chief, Miquel Buch, who manages the police force.
Catalonia has witnessed a series of pro-secession demonstrations in the run-up to the 10th of November general elections, some of which have turned violent.
The protests intensified last month, when Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine separatist leaders and activists to up to 13 years in jail for their role in a failed independence bid in 2017.
Catalonia plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in about four decades by holding a banned referendum on independence from the mainland in 2017.
The federal government, however, blocked the region’s attempts to break away from Spain, suspending Catalonia’s autonomy for almost seven months.
Madrid also sacked the Catalan leaders, dissolved parliament and called a snap regional election on 21 December 2017, which nationalist parties won.
A poll published in July by a public Catalan institute showed support for an independent Catalonia at its lowest level in two years, with 48.3% of people against and 44% in favor.
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