- Title: Thousands demonstrate against sentence of Catalan separatist leaders
- Date: 14th October 2019
- Summary: PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER READING IN CATALAN: "FREEDOM FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS" (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER AND CIVIL SERVANT IN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, CARMEN SEGURENA, SAYING: "It's totally unfair, I just want to cry. It is incredible, it is incredible because the only thing we asked for was to vote, to vote for independence, but without harming anyone. They didn't hurt anyone. The only things the Jordis (civic leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez) did was to ask the Spanish police, peacefully in a protest like this one, to leave and that's it, they did nothing else. They did absolutely nothing and they deserve acquittal. It's just a revenge from the Spanish state." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER AND CIVIL SERVANT, SANDRA, 28, SAYING: "My reaction is of impotence, even if you have a rough idea (of what's going to happen) and there are some leaks, there's always some hope of acquittal or much lesser charges. So the first reaction is of impotence and even of fear because it is a very dangerous precedent in this democracy, in relation to joining a simple demonstration." MAN WAVING SPANISH FLAG IN FRONT OF SEPARATIST PROTEST PROTESTERS CHANTING VARIOUS OF PROTESTER BANGING ON PAN TOP VIEW OF PROTEST
- Embargoed: 28th October 2019 12:45
- Keywords: Catalonia independence Spain's Supreme court veredict jailed catalan separatist leaders demonstration
- Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA005B12IS07
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Monday (October 14) after Spain's Supreme Court on Monday (October 14) sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in a failed independence bid in 2017.
Three other defendants, who were also on trial for their involvement in the October 2017 referendum held in spite of a ban and a short-lived independence declaration, were found guilty only of disobedience and not sentenced to prison.
In Barcelona, three main streets were blocked by protesters holding signs calling for "Freedom for political prisoners" as they said the sentence was "completely unfair."
Protesters blocked train and metro access to the Barcelona airport and others temporarily halted traffic on the A2 highway, as well as on several regional roads across Catalonia, officials at the road traffic agency said.
All defendants were acquitted of the gravest charge, rebellion, but leading separatists were quick to condemn the court's decision and the jailed men sent out messages of defiance, urging people to take to the streets.
(Production: Miguel Pereira, Lorena Cabral, Jordi Rubio, May Ponzo, Miguel Gutierrez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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