Linking pro-independence protester with terrorism ‘outrageous’, says Barcelona mayor

Activist is to appear in court on Thursday to answer terror and rebellion charges

Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau during the local plenary session on April 10, 2018 (by Aleix Freixas)
Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau during the local plenary session on April 10, 2018 (by Aleix Freixas) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

April 11, 2018 11:47 AM

Barcelona’s mayor has called the arrest of a pro-independence protester on terrorism charges “outrageous” and has warned about “trivializing” such a serious issue. “It is a fact that there is no violence in Catalonia, the only terrorism we have seen is what took place on the Rambles in August,” mayor Ada Colau said in a radio interview on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, Spanish police used anti-terror laws to arrest a woman from the network of protest groups known as the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), accusing her of coordinating pro-independence protests. The woman, who was arrested in Viladecans in Baix Llobregat, is to appear before the Spanish National Court on Thursday to answer charges of terrorism and rebellion.