More Than Dozen People Detained In Catalonia During Overnight Protests

BARCELONA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2019) Overnight protests across Catalonia left 13 people detained and four security officers injured, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

According to the emergency services, 14 civilians also sustained injuries: 11 in Barcelona and three more in Girona.

Since the beginning of the week, Catalonia has been marred in public unrest. Mass demonstrations have been brought about by the ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court to sentence nine Catalan politicians, involved in organizing the 2017 independence referendum, to 9-13 years in prison on sedition charges and the other three to fines over disobedience.

On Friday, what started as a general strike in Barcelona soon grew into violent riots. Protesters were blocking roads with barricades, setting them on fire, ripping off the street signs, breaking the windows of nearby stores and eventually clashed with law enforcement near the National Police building. They threw bricks, bottles, crackers and other objects at the police and burned carton boxes. Police had to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to constrain them, as well as use water cannons to fight the fire.

The situation in Catalonia remained unstable throughout Saturday. Moreover, clashes also took place in the Spanish capital of Madrid.