Police clash with protesters at Barcelona airport after Catalan separatist leaders jailed

14 October 2019, 23:01

Protesters and riot police clashed at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport
Protesters and riot police clashed at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Picture: PA

By Megan White

Riot police and protesters have clashed at Barcelona airport after Spain's Supreme Court jailed nine separatist leaders for illegally promoting Catalonian independence.

53 people were injured during the clashes at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where police fired foam bullets and used batons against the thousands gathered.

Protesters hurled objects at officers, spraying fire extinguishers and breaking windows.

Spain's airport operator, AENA, said at least 108 flights were cancelled.

Police also clashed with angry crowds late on Monday in central Barcelona.

The Catalan separatist leaders were jailed for between nine and 13 years on Monday over their role in an independence referendum in 2017.

Nine of the 12 Catalan politicians and activists were found guilty of sedition and given prison sentences. Four were additionally convicted of misuse of public funds.

The other three were fined for disobedience. The court barred all of them from holding public office.

All 12 were acquitted on the more serious charge of rebellion, which implied the use of violence, brought by state prosecutors and lawyers for the far-right Spanish party Vox.

One of those jailed, the region's former vice president Oriol Junqueras, was a key figure in the Catalan separatist movement for a failed independence bid that sparked Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

Clashes erupted after nine separatist leaders were jailed on Monday
Clashes erupted after nine separatist leaders were jailed on Monday. Picture: PA

Former Catalan Cabinet members Santiago Vila, Meritxell Borras and Carles Mundo, were fined for disobedience.

Caretaker prime minister Pedro Sanchez said the outcome of the four-month trial proved the 2017 secession attempt had become "a shipwreck".

He urged people to "set aside extremist positions" and "embark on a new phase" for Catalonia.

Mr Sanchez said he hoped the prison sentences would mark a turning point in the long stand-off between national authorities and separatist legislators in Barcelona, the Catalonia region's capital.

The Catalan separatist movement is going through its most difficult period in years.

Blockades were erected around the airport in Barcelona
Blockades were erected around the airport in Barcelona. Picture: PA

With a general election scheduled for November 10, its most charismatic leaders are behind bars or abroad after fleeing to avoid prosecution.

Catalan regional president Quim Torra described the court's verdict as "an act of vengeance".

He said it "will not stop us from acting on our determination to build an independent state".

Former regional president Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium in October 2017 with several others when they were summoned to appear in court, said the general election is an opportunity to show "a massive response of rejection" for the court's verdict and the "dignity and firmness" of the Catalan independence movements.

He spoke in Brussels hours after a Spanish Supreme Court judge issued an international warrant for his arrest.

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Russia bombed Ukrainian infrastructure overnight

Russia launches 'massive attack' on Ukraine's power supplies, with 'energy security under growing threat'

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus falls from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing at least 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

American Easter egg

White House’s annual Easter egg roll to be attended by 40,000 people

Barbers in Paris

Proposal to ban discrimination over a person’s hair passes first legal hurdle

Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian Authority names new government following pressure to reform

Arvind Kejriwal

Opposition leader Kejriwal locked up for further four days, court rules

Resident clears rubble from home

Russia wears down Ukrainian defences with missile and drone attacks