The fifth day of protests in Catalonia escalated into riots, violence and clashes between demonstrators and police in the autonomy capital of Barcelona. Protestors from all over Catalonia gathered in Barcelona on Friday, and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the city.
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People are protesting against the decision of the Supreme Court of Spain, which sentenced nine leaders of the independence movement of Catalonia to long terms of imprisonment.
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Catalonia has declared a general strike. Five demonstrations that took place along the streets of the city united in its center, completely paralyzing the life of the capital of this Spanish autonomy.
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Protesters blocked about 20 major highways, as well as the AR-7 highway, which leads to neighboring France.
During the day, the protests were peaceful, but by the evening the situation grew tense, and clashes with the police began, unsuccessfully trying to disperse the demonstrators.
Masked demonstrators, mostly young people, fought with police in the city center, throwing stones, eggs and bottles at the police, dragging them out onto the roadway and setting fire to garbage cans.
As a result of the ongoing mass demonstrations, the football match between Barcelona and Real Madrid scheduled for October 26 was postponed, as authorities fear stadium riots.
The Acting Minister of the Interior of Spain, Fernando Grande Marlasca, said those protesters who resort to violence during the protests in Catalonia could face up to six years in prison.