Rioting raged in Barcelona and several other Catalan towns for a third straight night, with police fighting running street battles with protesters angered by lengthy prison sentences for nine leaders of the wealthy region’s drive for independence from Spain.
Tens of thousands of protesters faced off against police in Barcelona. Some set up flaming barricades in the streets, torching cars and trash cans. They chanted, “The streets will always be ours!”
Catalan police said protesters threw gasoline bombs, stones, bottles and firecrackers at them.
Violence erupted in Catalonia after Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine separatist Catalan leaders to up to 13 years in prison for their part in an October 2017 effort to declare independence for the region.