Hundreds of thousands protest in Barcelona under the slogan "Self-determination is not a crime!"

Between 500,000 and 200,000 Catalan people have marched through Barcelona against the high-profile trial of Catalan separatist leaders that started this week, which they dismiss as a farce.

"Self-determination is not a crime," read a banner at the front of the protest led by regional president Quim Torra (Together for Catalonua). Municipal police said was attended by 200,000 people, while organisers* said over 500,000 had taken part.

Demonstrators waved blue, red and yellow Catalan pro independence flags and carried banners reading "Freedom for political prisoners."

The trial of 12 Catalan separatist politicians and activists over their role in the 2017 attempt to break Catalonia from Spain started on Tuesday at Madrid's Supreme Court.



* Assemblea Nacional Catalana, Òmnium Cultural, JxCat, ERC, CUP, Catalunya en Comú, la Crida Nacional, Acció Escolta, l’Associació Catalana pels Drets Civils, Associació de Municipis per la Independència, Confederació d’Associacions Veïnals de Catalunya, Consell Nacional de la Joventut de Catalunya, Escoltes Catalans, FemCat, Irídia, FAPAC, Minyons Escoltes i Guies, la Plataforma per la Llengua, Unió de Pagesos, Intersindical-CSC, USTEC