Catalonia descends into new night of unrest - live updates
Cars and trees on fire in Barcelona as president Torra condemns violence: "This must end now"
Barcelona descended into a new night of unrest on Wednesday as protesters set barricades on fire, burning trees and cars in the city center. Pro-independence supporters took to the streets for the third day in a row to protest the sentencing of 9 leaders for the crime of sedition.
The scenes of chaos were also widespread in major Catalan towns like Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. In all, 41 people required medical treatment, including a person with a traumatic head injury after being run over by a police van.
After midnight, Catalan president Quim Torra appeared on TV to condemn violence and stress that "the independence movement is not and has never been violent". "This must end now," he said, adding that "there is no justification for burning cars". Earlier on, Spain's acting president Pedro Sánchez had warned that he would not tolerate "violence taking over Catalonia".
Four protesters arrested on Tuesday in Barcelona were sent to prison without bail, according to the pro-independence group of lawyers Alerta Solidària.