Thousands of students marched on Thursday morning in Barcelona to protest the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling to sentence several Catalan independence leaders to prison terms ranging from nine to 13 years, a Sputnik correspondent reported
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) Thousands of students marched on Thursday morning in Barcelona to protest the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling to sentence several Catalan independence leaders to prison terms ranging from nine to 13 years, a Sputnik correspondent reported.Following Monday's controversial ruling, Spain's semi-autonomous Catalonia region, as well as other cities throughout the country, have been consumed by violent protests. On Wednesday, nearly 100 people were injured in the protests.
According to Barcelona's municipal police, some 25,000 people, mostly minors, marched on Thursday, following a call sent out by the Student Union of Catalan Countries organization.
During the march, the protesters stopped in front of the National Police station to yell slogans and demonstrate middle fingers to the institution.
"We want the people of the world to know that we do not agree with the Supreme Court's ruling, nor with what is going on following it," a 15-year-old protester named Emma told Sputnik.
Despite their young age, the protesters say that they are marching independently not because they were convinced to do it by their parents.
"I am marching because it is the right thing to do, [not] because i was brainwashed," Emma added.
On Wednesday, at least 20 people were detained during the protests after many set of the demonstrators set up barricades, threw garbage cans and Molotov cocktails at police.
The nine Catalan leaders were sentenced to prison over their involvement in the unauthorized 2017 Catalan independence referendum.
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 was not 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.
