Catalonia braced for third night of unrest after imprisonment of nine pro-independence leaders

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Spain’s prime minister has warned that his government will not be provoked into overreacting as Catalonia braces for a third night of unrest following the imprisonment this week of nine pro-independence leaders for their roles in the failed push for regional independence two years ago.

Speaking on Wednesday evening after holding talks with other political party leaders, Pedro Sánchez said the government would defend Spain’s constitution and peaceful coexistence but would not be tempted into inflaming tensions.

“The state will always guarantee the rights of those who wish to protest their ideas peacefully,” he said.

“But organised violent groups and those who try to break democratic laws will not achieve their aims … The only hope of those violent groups is that we’ll make mistakes and become overexcited and divided. They want us to fall for their provocations and feed a violent spiral.”

The prime minister’s address came as tens of thousands of people gathered in central Barcelona to protest against the supreme court’s verdict. Many threw toilet rolls in the air in a nod to the demonstration’s slogan: “There’s a lot of shit to clear up.”

As the demonstration wound down, some protesters once again skirmished with police and set fire to rubbish bins.

Sánchez said the government was ready to respond “to all scenarios” and called on the pro-independence Catalan president, Quim Torra, to unequivocally condemn the use of violence seen since Monday’s verdicts.

Referring to the regional government’s unsuccessful attempts to secure independence, Sánchez added: “No leader can camouflage their failure behind curtains of smoke and fire.”

Torra has been criticised for calling for civil disobedience while sending in Catalan riot police to restore order.

While the Catalan president declined to explicitly condemn the violence of recent days as he took part in a protest march from Girona to Barcelona on Wednesday, he later tweeted that “violence does not represent us”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the nine jailed leaders had issued a joint plea for peaceful protests after the Spanish government warned any further violence would be met with a “firm, proportional and united” response.

The nine called for a huge but peaceful response to their imprisonment.

“All support to mobilisations and massive and peaceful marches,” wrote the nine, who include the former regional vice-president Oriol Junqueras and two influential grassroots leaders, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart. “No violence represents us.”

Planned peaceful demonstrations in Barcelona gave way to running battles with the police on Tuesday evening, 24 hours after thousands of pro-independence protesters attempted to shut down Barcelona airport, leading to police charges.

The Spanish government said 51 people had been arrested across Catalonia on Monday and Tuesday, and 54 officers from the regional police force and 18 from the national force had been injured.

Sánchez’s caretaker government has already said it could activate article 155 of the constitution, which would allow it to suspend the regional government and assume direct rule of the region.

Sánchez’s rightwing opponents are calling for the government to take a hard line on the latest eruption of the regional independence crisis. Spain is due to hold its fourth general election in as many years on 10 November.

The prisoners’ calls for calm had been echoed earlier by Catalonia’s vice-president, who pointed out that violence would only play into the hands of opponents.

“Let’s not give them what they’re after,” Pere Aragonès tweeted on Tuesday night. “We must defend our citizens and our institutions. Let’s refrain from violent behaviour.”

The latest unrest began on Monday after Spain’s supreme court acquitted the nine defendants of the charge of violent rebellion but convicted them variously of sedition, misuse of public funds and disobedience over their parts in the push to secede from Spain.

Junqueras was jailed for 13 years, while Sànchez and Cuixart received nine-year sentences. The six others were given terms of between 10 and a half and 12 years.

Hours after the verdicts were announced, an international arrest warrant was reissued for the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who spearheaded the push for independence.

It said Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium to avoid arrest by the Spanish authorities, was wanted for alleged sedition and misuse of public funds.