Barcelona set for march against Catalan trial

With the trial of Catalan leaders starting in the Supreme Court in Madrid this week, Saturday will see a march in Barcelona to show support for the former officials and activists being prosecuted for organizing the independence bid in 2017.

Called by a range of pro-independence organizations, the demonstration aims to protest "intolerance, injustice and those who want to infringe fundamental rights," in the words of Òmnium Cultural's vice president, Marcel Mauri.

On Friday, Mauri called on the public to join the march, saying "it is more urgent than ever that all of us take to the streets and tomorrow we will fill the Gran Via avenue in defense of basic rights and the right to self-determination."

Under the slogan "Self-determination is a right, not a crime," the rally is set to begin at 5pm in Barcelona's Espanya square, before moving down the Gran Via avenue as far as Universitat square.

The march was called by the pro-independence ANC and Òmnium Cultural organizations, as well as the political parties Junts per Catalunya, ERC, CUP, Catalunya en Comú, and the USTEC-STEs and Intersindical-CSC unions, among other groups.