Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Barcelona’s Placa d’Espanya on April 15 to demand the release of Catalan leaders arrested after 2017’s failed independence referendum.
Police in Barcelona said that some 315,000 people had taken part in the demonstration. Protesters came out on the streets in opposition to the pre-trial detention of independence leaders.
The demonstration was organised by the National Catalan Assembly and Omnium, a Catalan cultural association. Leaders from both groups were jailed following the referendum.
Former president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont tweeted his support for the demonstration from Germany, where he was arrested last month on an international warrant. Puigdemont had been in self-imposed exile in Belgium since he was removed from office in 2017, but he was arrested when he crossed into Germany while returning to Belgium from a business trip to Finland. A German court ruled that he could not be extradited to Spain on rebellion charges but is still considering an extradition on charges of corruption. The court has ordered him to remain in Germany and check in with police weekly. Credit: Ana Roig via Storyful
