Catalonia: Thousands take to streets of Barcelona to protest crackdown on separatists

‘Tens of thousands poured onto the streets of central Barcelona and further afield in Catalonia, outraged at the escalating crackdown on a separatist-led referendum on independence for the region on 1 October that saw 14 local government officials arrested, including the region’s deputy vice president.
According to police, about 4,000 demonstrators gathered near the office of vice president Josep Maria Jove, who is also secretary-general of Catalonia’s economic affairs, to chant “we will vote” in a referendum deemed illegal by the central Madrid government and Spain’s constitutional court.
Outside the headquarters of pro-independence party Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), riot police were called to control thousands of mainly young demonstrators who cried “occupation forces out” and “the streets are ours”.
The arrests were carried out by Spain’s Civil Guard rather than the Catalan regional Mossos d’Esquadra force, who received widespread praise for their quick response to a pair of terrorist attacks last month. Police said they staged 22 search operations in total.’
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