Pro-independence demonstrations called in over 20 European cities

More than 20 European cities will host Catalan pro-independence demonstrations in the coming days, coinciding with the start of the referendum case trial.

Called by the ANC organization, the rallies will reach cities in nine different countries.

As well as protesting against the trial, the events aim to defend self-determination as a "right" and not a "crime."

So far 23 demonstrations have been confirmed: Nice (held on Monday); Copenhagen, Karlsruhe, Köln, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart (February 9); Paris (February 10); Brussels, Geneva, London, Donostia, Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona, Basel, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Luxembourg (February 12, the trial's start date); Berlin and Munich (February 16). A demonstration will also be held in Zürich, but the date is yet to be confirmed.

The ANC has for years been one of the main pro-independence civil organizations in the country, and its president at the time of the October 2017 referendum, Jordi Sànchez, has been in pre-trial jail since that same month.

Last Friday, the ANC occupied the headquarters of the European Commission in Barcelona, and a handful of activists spent the night there before ending their protest the following morning.