Thousands of people have taken to the streets after convicting nine leaders of the Catalan independence movement. The demonstrators tried, inter alia, to paralyze parts of El Prat airport and block the access routes. It came to clashes with the police.
In total, more than 30 people were injured by the evening, reported the news agency "Europa Press". The security forces have also used foam bullets to control the situation, reports Spanish television. More than 50 people are said to have been injured, according to the newspaper "La Vanguardia".
Meanwhile first clashes at the airport. pic.twitter.com/b46eCMoV8W # TsunamiDemocràtic
- Fabian Eberhard (@ FabianEberhard) October 14, 2019Also on Twitter the riots are documented in numerous videos. More than 100 flights have been canceled so far. Many others could start only with delay.
# Sentència1O | Noves càrregues a la T-1 de l'aeroport de #Barcelona. El cordó dels mossos ha fet retrocedir més de cinquanta metres les manifestants, que continues as pàrquings de la terminal https://t.co/1aEe1cKOIp pic.twitter.com/SIjMiqXs2X
- Directa (@La_Directa) October 14, 2019Football coach Pep Guardiola, one of Spain's most prominent supporters of Catalan independence, commented on the protests on Twitter in a video message and called for moderation.
Spain, sit down and talk. https://t.co/hugBeKiboi
- Marcel Mauri de los Rios (@marcelmauri) October 14, 2019Since the announcement of the judgments there have been protests throughout Catalonia. The Supreme Court in Madrid had sentenced nine separatist leaders to long terms of imprisonment of up to 13 years in the wake of the October 2017 illegal separation referendum. In the evening thousands of Catalans gathered in Plaça Sant Jaume in front of the regional government headquarters.