Pro-independence demonstrators in Barcelona are continuing to rally to protest against a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court sentencing nine Catalan politicians involved in organising the 2017 independence referendum to 9-13 years in prison on sedition charges and another three to fines over disobedience.
The demonstrations recently turned violent, resulting in hundreds of people injured and detained. On 20 October, acting Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that 288 police officers had been injured in the clashes.
The violent protests in the region have drawn international attention. On 18 October, amid a region-wide general strike, protesters blocked roads with barricades and set them on fire, ripped down street signs, broke storefront windows, and clashed with law enforcement near the National Police building. They threw bricks, bottles, fireworks, and other objects at the police and burned cardboard boxes. Police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas to contain the crowd, as well as by using water cannons to put out the fires.
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