For more than a week, twelve prominent Catalan separatist leaders have been standing in front of the Madrid Supreme Court. In protest against the process, independence advocates in Catalonia entered into a general strike on Thursday.
Public transport as well as hospitals and pharmacies were particularly affected. The slogan under the slogan „Without rights, there is no freedom“ called the union federation CSC. The aim is to paralyze Catalonia for a day to vent the anger of many citizens on the court proceedings.
Among the separatist leaders in charge are former ministers and activists who played key roles in the October 2017 banned independence referendum.
Two arrests during protests
The prosecution accuses them of, among other things, rebellion. The defendants face long prison sentences. The former regional president Carles Puigdemont is not in court – he had exiled himself to Belgium.
Since the morning demonstrators blocked roads in different parts of the Catalonia region. The police arrived. Two strikers were arrested, Spanish media reported.
The public long-distance and local traffic continued – as required by law – with minimal operation. In Barcelona, about 50 percent of public transport was used during commuter traffic, and only one third of regional trains continued on schedule.
On Thursday evening there will be a big rally in Barcelona. Hundreds of thousands had already taken to the streets in protest last weekend in the metropolis.
