MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) Clashes are underway between protesters and law enforcement in Barcelona and other cities of the Catalonia autonomous region of Spain as people rally against the recent court ruling to give prison sentences to several alleged organizers of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.
Protesters in Barcelona threw bottles, crackers and other objects onto the police and burned carton boxes. The chaos can be seen on live streamed videos from the scene. The hotbeds of clashes are located near the administrative buildings in Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona and Girona and can were broadcast by 24 Horas.
Police used rubber bullets and batons to block the protesters from besieging the Spanish government's building in Barcelona. According to Catalunya Radio, as many as 40,000 people have gathered at the scene, with several protesters already detained.
Protests also grew into clashes with law enforcement in Lleida and Tarragona, the Vanguardia newspaper wrote. In Giron, some 9,000 people took to the streets and, when the majority dispersed, those remaining began throwing objects at police officers who were trying to keep them away from the central square.
Demonstrations started out in Catalonia on Monday, after the Spanish Supreme Court ruled to sentence nine Catalan politicians, involved in organizing the 2017 independence referendum, to 9-13 years in prison on sedition charges and other three to fines over disobedience. Later that day, the court issued European and international arrest warrants for former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont.
With the epicenter in Barcelona, the protests have already resulted in 7 injuries over the past two days and severe disruptions to transport systems, including Barcelona's El Prat airport.
