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Catalonia march for freedom draws thousands

Friday, 18 October 2019 7:05 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 18 October 2019 7:10 AM ]

Kusai Kedri
Press TV, Sabadell

Thousands of protesters in Catalonia have begun a 100 km journey on foot to the region's capital to demand the acquittal of their political leaders who were given long jail terms for the 2017 referendum bid.

They are the thousands of protesters who embarked on a three-day march stretching over a hundred kilometers to denounce the Spanish Supreme Court verdict against 9 independence leaders who were convicted of sedition for the failed referendum bid of 2017.

The Sabadell March is one of five columns that set out Wednesday following a call from Catalonia's main grassroots organizations to converge on Barcelona.

On Wednesday, protesters set fire to containers and burned cars as they battled riot police who used rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

Catalonia's President Quim Torra condemned the violence but pro-Spanish opposition blame him for the unrest and have demanded his resignation.

The Sabadell protesters will resume their march on Friday as the region braces for a general strike called by the pro-independence trade unions.

The violent clashes that gripped Catalonia over the past two days stand in sharp contrast with the overall response to the verdict. Here protesters tell a different story than that of a peaceful march all the way to Barcelona.

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