RTMon, 14 Oct 2019 13:07 UTC
© REUTERS / Rafael MarchantePeople march through Via Laetana Avenue during a protest after a verdict in a trial over a banned independence referendum.
Former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras
has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by Spain's Supreme Court for his role in the attempted secession by authorities in Barcelona in 2017.
Junqueras was among nine separatist leaders who were
sentenced to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition for their part in the region's failed 2017 independence bid which captured headlines around the world.
A further three defendants were found guilty of disobedience but were not handed prison sentences for their participation in both the banned referendum and short-lived independence declaration. All defendants were acquitted of the most serious charge of rebellion.
© Reuters/Albert GeaFormer Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras (left), who received the harshest sentence, and President Carles Puigdemont (right), who remains in exile
A further three defendants were found guilty of disobedience but were not handed prison sentences. Meanwhile, the former regional president and face of the separatist movement Carles Puigdemont remains in exile in Belgium. In a statement in response to the sentencing, he described the 100 years of total prison time for the former leaders as an
"atrocity.""It is time to react ... for the future of our sons and daughters. For democracy. For Europe. For Catalonia," the former leader wrote on
Twitter.
Protests erupt in Barcelona as citizens vent anger at harsh sentences for Catalan referendum organizersPeople are gathering in the streets of the Catalan capital Barcelona, to protest the sentencing of nine people to lengthy jail terms for their roles in the 2017 independence referendum.
Barcelona is bracing for a day of mass protests, with local students leading the build-up for what is promised to be a "Democratic Tsunami".
Several streets have been blocked by demonstrators. Further disruptions of traffic are expected as more people take to the streets later in the day. Protest rallies have also been reported in several big Catalan municipalities, such as Girona and Lleida.
Comment: Update 21:45 CETBarcelona resembles Hong Kong today, with police going all-in to clear protesters who have gathered at the airport:
It's not just the airport either; protests have erupted across Barcelona and the whole Catalonia region. Here people are banging pots and pans out their windows as a form of 'prison protest' in support of the jailed leaders:
We can confirm that Spanish police are firing 'flash-balls' at them - the same thing the French police used to suppress Yellow Vest protesters:
Macron, Merkel, MSM, corporate media, alt-media,
et al... any comment?? Should Spain not be "respecting the democratic rights" of Catalans? Should it not be "engaged in political dialogue"? Y'all have
so much to say about Hong Kong ought to be run...
Or is this latest symptom of the 'Western House Divided on Itself' all Russia's doing?!
What's deliciously ironic about this development is that pro-independence Catalans were probably watching what has been happening in HK, what was happening in the Spanish courts, and hand planned beforehand to storm Barcelona's airport when their leaders' sentences were handed down...
They were thus inspired by pro-independence Hong Kongers, who were trained and at least partially funded by Western NGOs... and so it all feeds back into the system against the system itself.
Comment: Update 21:45 CET
Barcelona resembles Hong Kong today, with police going all-in to clear protesters who have gathered at the airport:
It's not just the airport either; protests have erupted across Barcelona and the whole Catalonia region. Here people are banging pots and pans out their windows as a form of 'prison protest' in support of the jailed leaders:
We can confirm that Spanish police are firing 'flash-balls' at them - the same thing the French police used to suppress Yellow Vest protesters:
Macron, Merkel, MSM, corporate media, alt-media, et al... any comment?? Should Spain not be "respecting the democratic rights" of Catalans? Should it not be "engaged in political dialogue"? Y'all have so much to say about Hong Kong ought to be run...
Or is this latest symptom of the 'Western House Divided on Itself' all Russia's doing?!
What's deliciously ironic about this development is that pro-independence Catalans were probably watching what has been happening in HK, what was happening in the Spanish courts, and hand planned beforehand to storm Barcelona's airport when their leaders' sentences were handed down...
They were thus inspired by pro-independence Hong Kongers, who were trained and at least partially funded by Western NGOs... and so it all feeds back into the system against the system itself.