'Massive' demonstration planned in Barcelona on Saturday to 'defend rights and freedoms'

Civil society organizations, trade unions and other entities from the economic, social and cultural sectors have called a 'massive' demonstration for Saturday in Barcelona to protest against the arrest of two pro-independence leaders. The Platform for Democracy, a group including 90 organizations from Catalonia, is asking citizens to attend the march on October 21 to "defend rights and freedoms".

The presidents of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, were sent to prison on Monday evening without bail. They await trial on an investigation for an alleged sedition crime during the peaceful demonstrations of September 20 and 21 in Barcelona and during the October 1 referendum. The chief of the Catalan police, Josep-Lluís Trapero, is also investigated in the same case, although he was released with precautionary measures and his passport was withdrawn.

The platform does not rule out the possibility of calling a strike or work stoppage in the next few days, as they did on October 3 following the police crackdown on the independence referendum.