Thousands of Catalan separatists gathered in Barcelona on Sunday to protest against a series of legal challenges made by Spain’s government against pro-independence Catalan politicians. Those politicians include Catalonia’s former regional president Artur Mas and the current speaker of the regional parliament, Carme Forcadell, who both attended Sunday’s protest. In 2014, then-president Mas ignored an order by Spain’s constitutional court to suspend a mock referendum on Catalan secession. Polls consistently show that Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents are equally divided on breaking century-old ties with the rest of Spain. Catalonia’s current regional president, Carles Puigdemont, plans to call another referendum on independence by September.

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2016 16:47 UTC