Infrastructures blocked in strike against imprisonment of Catalan leaders

Catalonia’s main roads and rail services were blocked on Wednesday following a general strike called to protest the imprisonment of pro-independence leaders. Since the strike was backed by pro-independence parties and organizations but not by the main unions in the country, most companies and shops opened as usual.

Thousands took to the streets throughout the day in many Catalan towns. In Barcelona, one of the main demonstrations took place in front of the government headquarters in Sant Jaume square. Since Madrid’s dismissal of the Catalan cabinet at the end of October, eight ministers have been held in prison, while five others — including deposed president Carles Puigdemont — are currently in Brussels.

Later in the evening, thousands of protesters gathered in front of Barcelona’s Cathedral. The Catalan writer Bel Olid read the joint manifesto, which stated that “political conflicts should be resolved politically, through negotiation and dialogue,” and labeled the Spanish government’s takeover of Catalan institutions a “direct attack on democracy.”