A huge crowd with Catalan flags has paralyzed central Barcelona as people from all across the region protested the harsh prison sentences for pro-independence leaders by the Spanish court and called for parting ways with the fascist dictators in Madrid.
The rally continued more or less peacefully for a few hours, but was eventually marred by more serious violence as some of the protesters started building barricades and setting garbage containers on fire.
Some of those, involved in clashes with police, were said to be right-wing thugs, who actually oppose the Catalan independence. The footage from the scene showed people carrying Spanish national flags and giving Nazi salutes.
As night fell, some of the sites of the clashes resembled a war zone, with burning barricades, rubble everywhere and clouds of thick white smoke in the air.
The AP-7 highway was cut off near the French border, paralyzing the crossing between Spain and France. In Girona, farmers drove their tractors across the central streets to the cheers of crowds to show Madrid that they mean business.
Barcelona has been in turmoil since Monday when Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine politicians and activists to up to 13 years behind bars for organizing the referendum on Catalonia’s independence in 2017.
The plebiscite, which saw the majority of the population voting for secession from Spain, was labeled illegal by the royals in Madrid and met with a harsh police crackdown that left hundreds of people injured.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2019.
