(19 Dec 2019) On October 26th 2019 hundreds of thousands of people staged a protest in Barcelona against the imprisonment of nine separatist leaders for their role in an illegal 2017 secession bid.
Barcelona's police say that 350,000 people have rallied in downtown Barcelona.
Many wave pro-independence flags for Catalonia.
The rally is organised by the main pro-secession grassroots groups wanted to create a new state in northeastern Spain.
Nine were given sentences of nine-13 years for sedition. They were all acquitted or the more serious crime of rebellion.
That sparked peaceful protests in Barcelona and other nearby cities that later spiraled into violent clashes with police come nightfall.
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Police clashed with a large group of Catalan separatists in downtown Barcelona on October 26th in a flare-up of violence in the restive Spanish region.
Several hundred mostly masked protesters surrounded the national police headquarters in the Catalan city and threw bottles and rocks at officers in riot gear. The police responded with baton charges.
The clashes came after 350,000 people protested peacefully on Saturday against the imprisonment of nine Catalan separatist leaders for their roles in an illegal 2017 secession bid.
In the previous week Barcelona and other nearby towns were rocked by six days of violent riots that hurt over 500 people, including police, and led to over 150 arrests.
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About 2,000 protesters wielding Spanish republican flags and pro-independence symbols banged kitchen pots and blocked access to a Barcelona venue where the Spanish royal family was attending an award ceremony on November 4th.
Some of the guests at the Princess of Girona Awards for young talent were unable to enter the conference center on time.
Surrounded by police in anti-riot gear, the protesters chanted "Go Away!" and burned pictures of the Spanish monarch.
Speaking during his visit to the northeastern region, King Felipe VI said violence and the disparaging of others have no place in the dispute over Catalonia's independence.
November 4th's royal visit was the first since the imprisonment of nine politicians and activists who led the 2017 drive for secession, a ruling that has been met with massive protests this month that have turned unusually violent at times.
Roughly half of the people of Catalonia are in favor of seceding from Spain, according to official surveys and recent election results.
The issue will dominate the country's general election on Sunday, when voters elect lawmakers to the next parliament, which will in turn choose Spain's next prime minister.
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Riot police clashed with protesters in the streets December 18th outside a football match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, as authorities sought to keep Catalonia's separatist movement from disrupting the game viewed by 650 million people worldwide.
Thousands of police and private security guards were deployed in and around stadium as nearly 100,000 fans attended.
In the street clashes, riot police used batons to force the crowd back, some threw objects at officers lined up behind shields and other protesters fought among themselves.
There was no immediate word about injuries.
At least four plastic trash cans were set on fire, and a smell of smoke wafted into the Camp Nou.
Protest organisers said over 25,000 people signed up to demonstrate near the stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia's capital, although it was hard to distinguish between protesters and fans.
Separatist sentiment grew sharply in Catalonia during the global recession that hit Spain hard.
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