Stormy protest in Barcelona after ex-Catalan leader arrested

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Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont's capture sparked protests of tens of thousands in Catalonia's main city of Barcelona and other towns in the wealthy northeastern corner of Spain. Some of the demonstrators clashed with riot police, leaving more than 50 civilians and police officers injured and leading to four arrests.

Some threw garbage cans at Catalan police in riot gear, who responded by beating demonstrators with their batons or firing warning shots in the air.

"This Europe is shameful!" they chanted as they marched by the office of the European Commission in the Catalan capital.

Protesters scuffle with riot police blocking the road leading to the central government offices in Barcelona at a demonstration against the arrest of ex-Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. /AFP Photo

Despite the efforts of Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels after the Catalan parliament declared independence on October 27 and Madrid countered by taking control of the region, no EU member state backed the secessionist cause.

Spain's state prosecutor office said it was in contact with its German counterparts to carry out its request to extradite Puigdemont to Spain, where he faces charges including rebellion that could put him in prison for up to 30 years. Puigdemont will appear before a German judge on Monday.

German highway police stopped Puigdemont on Sunday morning near the A7 highway that leads into Germany from Denmark, police in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein said.

Read more: Ex-Catalan leader held in Germany on Spanish arrest warrant

Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra regional police officers stand amid smoke from a smoke bomb during clashes with pro-independence supporters trying to reach the Spanish government office in Barcelona, Spain, March 25, 2018. ‍/AP Photo

Outside of the German consulate demonstrators held up a photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel sporting a Hitler-style mustache.

Many chanted "no more smiles," a reference to the longstanding claim from Catalan separatist leaders that their drive to break the wealthy northeastern region away from Spain would be a "revolution of smiles."

But other separatist leaders like Elsa Artadi, a lawmaker in the Catalan parliament for Puigdemont's Together for Catalonia party, appealed for calm.

The protest was called by the radical Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), which were set up just before Catalonia held a referendum on independence on October 1 that was banned by the courts.

Polls show Catalonia's 7.5 million residents are equally divided over secession, although a majority support holding a legal referendum on the issue.

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Source(s): AP ,AFP