Thousands march in Barcelona for National Day while Catalan separatist leaders face jail
Record ID:
1436422
Thousands march in Barcelona for National Day while Catalan separatist leaders face jail
- Title: Thousands march in Barcelona for National Day while Catalan separatist leaders face jail
- Date: 12th October 2019
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (OCTOBER 12, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WAVING SPANISH FLAGS AND HOLDING BALLOONS WITH A HEART CONTAINING CATALAN, SPANISH AND EUROPEAN EMBLEMS CITIZENS PARTY LEADERS (FROM LEFT) LORENA ROLDAN (RED JACKET) CARLOS CARRIZOSA AND INES ARRIMADAS AT DEMONSTRATION MARCHING BEHIND BANNER VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAVING SPANISH FLAGS AND FLAG WITH HEART CONTAINING CATALAN, SPANISH AND EUROPEAN EMBLEMS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MECHANIC AND BARCELONA RESIDENT ANTONIO REYES, SAYING: "The situation in Catalonia is tremendously dire. Here we don't have government but misrule. About the sentence, I hope it will be as hard as possible and I hope that this gets fixed as soon as possible. It's not possible to live here, sincerely, the ones of us who are not separatists feel overwhelmed. Practically we cannot work, cannot live, cannot be safe in the streets and this is thanks to the current government." FLAGS WITH HEART CONTAINING CATALAN, SPANISH AND EUROPEAN EMBLEMS LARGE FLAG WITH HEART CONTAINING CATALAN, SPANISH AND EUROPEAN EMBLEMS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TEACHER AND BARCELONA RESIDENT, LAURA GONZALEZ, SAYING: "I believe that it wouldn't be well for an independent Catalonia. They should think about changing everything a little bit but without leaving Spain, sincerely, I think a united Spain is better than a separated Catalonia, away from Spain." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAVING SPANISH FLAGS MAN DRESSED AS A KNIGHT PEOPLE WALKING AND HOLDING A SPANISH FLAG OVER THEIR HEADS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NURSE AND BARCELONA RESIDENT, BRYAN VALENZUELA, SAYING: "I personally hope that they will be condemned for the acts they did against the Spanish constitution. They cannot go unpunished in my opinion, they have to pay for it. I think it will be a very conflictive situation because the separatist side is not going to take the sentence well, so I imagine there will be a lot of conflict, strikes and the truth is that it worries me a lot." PEOPLE GATHERED IN CATALONIA SQUARE WAVING SPANISH FLAGS PEOPLE HOLDING SPANISH FLAGS AND ORANGE PLACARDS READING (Catalan and Spanish): "WE ARE CATALONIA WE ARE SPAIN" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN CATALONIA SQUARE WAVING SPANISH FLAGS
- Embargoed: 26th October 2019 13:34
- Keywords: Spain National Day parade Barcelona Catalonia
- Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0SKCHZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of people marched in Barcelona on Saturday (October 12) in a demonstration that called for a "united Spain", as the country awaits the Spanish Supreme Court's imminent verdict on the trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders.
According to local police, around 10,000 people marched through the streets of Barcelona carrying pro-Spain flags and banners.
Spain's Supreme Court plans to convict and sentence Catalan separatist leaders to a maximum of 15 years in prison over a 2017 bid for independence, a judicial source said on Saturday.
The most prominent of the 12 Catalan leaders on trial would be found guilty of charges of sedition and misuse of public funds but none would be convicted and sentenced for the more severe charge of rebellion, the source told Reuters.
The ruling could reignite tensions over a secession push which, two years ago, plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in decades.
(Production: Luis Felipe Fernandez, Jordi Rubio) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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