Once again there were serious riots in Barcelona: According to police, supporters of the independence movement set fire to cars and barricades. Officials were therefore thrown for the first time with Molotov cocktails. There were 20 arrests and 32 injured.
The protests had ignited a verdict from Spain's Supreme Court against nine prominent Catalan independence advocates on Monday. They were given jail terms of up to 13 years for "rioting" and misappropriation of public funds for organizing a referendum on independence in October 2017 that the Spanish judiciary considered illegal.
In addition to peaceful rallies thousands of supporters of a spin-off of the region of Spain there was therefore always riots with dozens injured and numerous arrests since Monday.
Regional President Torra: Protests yes, but please peacefully
Catalan regional president Quim Torra called for an immediate end to the violence. Demonstrations must be "peaceful," said Torra in the televised speech. At the same time he emphasized that protests against an "unjust and nonsensical verdict" were "normal and good".
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met the leaders of the opposition parties during the previous day to discuss the situation. While conservative forces were working to re-enforce the breakaway region - as had happened after the independence referendum of October 2017 - left parties pleaded for dialogue and a political solution.
