Thousands of protesters are marching toward Barcelona, the capital of Spain's semi-autonomous region of Catalonia, on Friday in protest of the Supreme Court's unpopular ruling to hand out lengthy prison terms to the region's independence leaders
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) Thousands of protesters are marching toward Barcelona, the capital of Spain's semi-autonomous region of Catalonia, on Friday in protest of the Supreme Court's unpopular ruling to hand out lengthy prison terms to the region's independence leaders.
On Wednesday, five separate "Freedom Marches" started out in Catalonia's five major cities Girona, Vic, Berga, Tarrega and Tarragona following a call from several of the Catalan pro-independence organizations.
As the protesters approach Catalonia's capital, more people are joining the march. On Friday morning, the marches that started in Vic and Berga united in Sant Quirze del Valles, just 12 miles outside of Barcelona. Another two columns, which started from Tarrega and Tarragona, also merged this morning in Martorell, 13 miles away from Barcelona.
The marchers intend to meet in central Barcelona on Friday to participate in the city-wide demonstration, which coincides with a region-wide general strike that started earlier in the day.
The strike was called on by pro-independence trade unions in response to the ruling. Social services, including transportation, education and health services have been affected throughout Catalonia but continue to operate at a decreased capacity, adhering to the government's established quota for the provision of minimal services during strikes.
On Monday, Spain's Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan independence leaders to prison terms ranging from nine to 13 years over their involvement in an unauthorized independence referendum in 2017. Since then, Spain, and particularly the semi-autonomous region, has been engulfed in violent mass protests, with both police and protesters receiving injuries in clashes. Nearly 100 people have been detained so far.
