barcelona protests
Catalans blockade streets by setting dumpsters alight to prevent riot police forces loyal to Madrid from navigating Barcelona and other cities.
Catalan political leaders said on Tuesday that the long prison terms handed to nine politicians for their role in the 2017 independence referendum had strengthened their determination to force the region's secession from Spain.

Quim Torra, the president of Catalonia, said: "We will never give up on the right to self-determination."

"The intention is to prevent us from doing it again, but we will do it again because holding a referendum is not a crime," he declared.

His defiance came as demonstrators blocked a train station and several motorways in Catalonia on Tuesday, a second day of protests over Monday's jailing of nine separatists by the supreme court over their role in the failed secession bid.

Police intervened to remove the protesters, while a rally in central Barcelona closed a main thoroughfare to traffic and pro-independence leaders vowed to keep pushing for a new referendum.


On Tuesday night in Barcelona, police charged at protesters after some hurled firecrackers and other objects at the officers and kicked temporary fences put in place to protect the building.

The protesters sang the Catalan anthem and shouted, "The streets will always be ours," "Independence," as well as slogans calling Spanish police "occupying forces" and urging them to leave Catalonia. They erected improvised barricades with rubbish bins, fences, and piles of cardboard that they set on fire.

Seven Catalan politicians and two civil society activists were found guilty of sedition for their part in organising an unlawful referendum that led to a declaration of independence from Spain in October 2017.

Mr Torra said the jail sentences of between nine and 13 years were "unjust and undemocratic".


Oriol Junqueras, the former deputy president of Catalonia who received the longest sentence, said in an email interview with Reuters that independence supporters "will never give up", because "prison and exile have made us stronger".

"I am sure that this conflict must be resolved at the ballot box... We are convinced that sooner or later a referendum is inevitable," added Mr Junqueras, who is one of several jailed politicians now barred from standing in Spain's general election next month.

Anger at the verdicts announced by Spain's Supreme Court spilled onto the streets of Catalonia, with riot police clashing with protesters in central Barcelona and the city's airport.

One protester is reported to have lost an eye after police used foam bullets, and more than 100 people required medical treatment for their injuries.


Police did finally secure road and rail access to the airport, but around 150 flights were cancelled on Monday and on Tuesday morning due to the disruption.

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo called on Mr Torra and the Catalan government to act responsibly and not "foment situations that don't help anybody."

Mr Torra's government announced on Tuesday that it would be sending letters to all prime ministers from EU states, as well as those of G20 and EFTA nations, asking for greater international support for Catalonia.

The European Commission has so far stuck to its line that the crisis in Catalonia is "an internal affair" for Spain.