A sit-down protest, in which several hundred people take part, at the call of the TsunamiDemocratic organization, takes place on Monday afternoon in front of the representative office of the Spanish government in Barcelona.
Participants of the action – mainly young people – brought with them posters with the inscription Spain: sit and talk. They are shouting a demand for the release of Catalan politicians sentenced by the Supreme court for their involvement in organizing an illegal independence referendum. The crowd also chants “Catalonia-anti-fascists” and sings the song Bella Ciao, the performance of which often accompanies protests in Europe.
The protest takes place in the presence of police squads, traffic on adjacent streets is partially blocked.
The action comes amid a visit to Barcelona by the acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He arrived in Barcelona on Monday morning, met with police officers and went to hospitals, where security forces suffered during the protests are being treated.
Rallies, roadblocks, railroad tracks and riots began in Catalonia on October 14 after the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced 12 Catalan politicians for their involvement in an illegal independence referendum.
During the clashes in various cities of the autonomous community, several hundred people were injured during the week, including more than 300 representatives of law enforcement agencies. Since the beginning of the riots, about 200 people have been detained, about 30 of them are in pre-trial detention.