A pro-independence demonstrator holds up a Carles Puigdemont mask during a protest on Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, against the detention of Carles Puigdemont, the deposed leader of Catalonia's pro-independence party. Photo: IC

 

Spain's Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine separatist leaders from Catalonia to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in a failed independence bid, triggering protests across the region.

Three other defendants, who were also on trial for their involvement in the October 2017 referendum held in spite of a ban and a short-lived independence declaration, were found guilty only of disobedience and not sentenced to prison.

All defendants were acquitted of the gravest charge, rebellion, but leading separatists were quick to condemn the court's decision and the jailed men sent out messages of defiance, urging people to take to the streets.

Former head of Catalonia's regional government, Carles Puigdemont, said the prison sentences were an "atrocity," and the head of the regional parliament Roger Torrent called them an "attack on democracy."

In Barcelona, three main streets were blocked by protesters holding signs calling for "Freedom for political prisoners." 

Outside the pro-independence Omnium Cultural headquarters in Barcelona, a crowd chanted "We'll do it again" - a slogan used by separatist supporters who want to hold another referendum.

Protesters in Tarragona blocked the A7 highway to Barcelona and several regional roads across Catalonia, officials at the Catalan road traffic ­agency said. An earlier disruption to the regional train network outside the town of Girona, a separatist stronghold, had ended.

Much is at stake in how the court's decision will be received, both for Spain and for its wealthiest region. Catalonia's independence drive attracted worldwide attention and triggered Spain's biggest political crisis in decades and unnerved financial markets.

Separatist protests have been largely peaceful but police sources have said authorities are prepared for any violence.