Hundreds of thousands have shouted freedom! | Manifestació …

Hundreds of thousands demonstrated yesterday in Barcelona to protest the trial of 12 independence leaders for their secession attempt in 2017, which began last week in Madrid. While the municipal police estimated the badistance to 200,000 people, the organizers estimated the number of participants at 500,000.

The president of the Catalan regional government, Quim Torra, led the demonstration behind a banner bearing the slogan "Self-determination is not a crime", alongside other leaders of the independence movement, such as the Speaker of the Regional Parliament, Roger Torrent. Sending to the press, Torra asked the international community to listen to the clamor of the Catalan people against the trial that he described as a farce.

Following the leaders, a crowd of protesters invaded the central avenue of Gran Vía, full of independent flags and posters stating "political prisoners of Libertad". "It's very sad what is happening.It's a political trial, rich in manipulations, to condemn them for something that is not a crime," said Jesus Rodriguez, president of & rdquo; A group of "castellers", a tradition of this region consisting of building high human towers. "They just want to lock them up and, by voting, they know it's not a crime, they invent a violence that does not exist," said the 48-year-old man.

The independence leaders organized on 1 October 2017 a referendum of self-determination, marked by the violence of the police deployed to prevent it, then proclaimed an ephemeral independent republic. However, the existence or not of violence by the separatists in the unsuccessful attempt at secession is the central focus of the trial opened last Tuesday before the Supreme Court of Madrid against twelve leaders of the independence movement and should last three months. Nine of them are accused of rebellion, which implies the existence of a violent uprising aimed at separating this wealthy region of northeastern Spain from 7.5 million. 39 inhabitants, divided in two between supporters and opponents of independence. The prosecution says for these nine people currently in custody between between 16 and 25 years in prison, like the former Catalan president Oriol Junqueras.

In his testimony before the court, Junqueras argued that his movement had always been civic and peaceful and that he had never encouraged violence. The prosecution does not agree, arguing that the separatists used the citizens as barriers against the police, who tried to prevent the referendum on self-determination, knowing that shocks would occur.

This affirmation of the prosecutor's office was appropriate for the protesters yesterday in Barcelona: "Thank you for turning the Gran Vía into a human wall Yes, Mr. Prosecutor, we are a human wall, we are a wall of dissidents worthy and proud, "said Marcel Mauri, spokesman for the mnium badociation, whose president Jordi Cuixart is also on trial.

The separatists, who had already demonstrated on Tuesday, the day of the beginning of the trial, in several Catalan cities, also plan to trigger a general strike on February 21 and a demonstration in Madrid on March 16. They also promise strong mobilizations if the judgments of the trial, which are not expected before July, are condemnatory.

The process against Catalan leaders coincides with a tumultuous period in Spanish political life, with the call for early parliamentary elections on April 28, the third since December 2015. Elections were announced Friday by the head of government Spanish. Pedro Sanchez, two days after seeing his budget bill overthrown in Congress by the rejection, precisely, of the parties of Catalan independence.

The Socialist leader, proposing a policy of détente with Catalonia, had obtained in June the support of the separatists in their motion of censure against the conservative Mariano Rajoy of the popular party. Since then, the Spanish government has begun negotiations with the Torra regional government, but they were interrupted a week ago because of the fundamental differences between the referendum on self-determination, which was unacceptable for Sánchez.

Polls indicate that the elections could lead to a right-wing majority between the People's Party (right), Ciudadanos (center-right) and the far-right Vox, hostile to Catalan separatism and supporters of the party. Prohibition of independence of the region declaration of independence.