At least 20 people were detained during the Wednesday protests in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia, regional police said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) At least 20 people were detained during the Wednesday protests in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia, regional police said on Thursday.
The protests in Catalonia have been underway since Monday when the Spanish Supreme Court handled prison terms of up to 13 years to nine out of 12 accused Catalan independence movement leaders. The demonstrations subsequently turned violent, resulting in dozens of people injured and detained. On Wednesday, radical protesters set up barricades, and set garbage cans and cars on fire in Barcelona.
"At least 20 people were detained [on Wednesday] across [Catalonia] over their suspected links to violent actions during various demonstrations and rallies," regional police, Mossos de Escuadra, wrote on their Twitter page.
During the 2017 independence referendum, over 90 percent of those, who cast ballots, supported the secession of the region from Spain. However, since the vote has not been authorized by the central government, Madrid dissolved the regional authorities and detained the separatist leaders on various charges, including sedition and misuse of public funds.
