Spanish police repeatedly charged separatist demonstrators at the entrance to Barcelona's El Prat airport Monday as they protested a Supreme Court ruling that jailed nine of their leaders, an AFP correspondent said.
Spain's government said Wednesday it would do whatever it takes to stamp out violence in Catalonia, where clashes between regional independence supporters and police have injured more than 200 people in two days.
The protests descended into clashes with police in many cities.
When one man tried to put out the flames of a burning rubbish container with a fire extinguisher, masked protesters pushed him away, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.
It follows the sentencing on Monday of nine Catalan separatist leaders.
Local police said that about 25,000 protesters gathered at Catalunya square before the demonstration at the airport, which prevented crews from reaching their planes for takeoff.
"We all [in exile] expect EAW, but we do not know when [the EAW will be issued]", she said, adding that she will collaborate with the Belgian justice system.
Sánchez told The Associated Press his ultimate goal is getting Spain to grant amnesty that acknowledges he and 11 other Catalan separatists didn't commit any crimes when they pushed for secession in 2017. Roughly half of the region's 7.5 million residents support independence, with the other half opposing a breakaway, according to polls.
FC Barcelona have condemned the jail sentences given to leaders of Catalan separatist leaders for their roles in a banned 2017 independence referendum.
On Monday, they were all acquitted of rebellion, the gravest charge, but were found guilty of sedition.
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Spain's airport operator, AENA, said that more than 1,000 flights were scheduled to operate normally in Barcelona on Tuesday, with around 20 flights canceled compared to 110 on Monday.
The separatist camp is frustrated over Catalan regional president Quim Torra's failure to deliver on his government's promise to achieve independence.
The protesters sang the Catalan anthem and shouted, "The streets will always be ours", "Independence", as well as slogans calling Spanish police "occupying forces" and urging them to leave Catalonia.
There were also more police charges against demonstrators in a bid to unblock roads, including on the C-17 road near Gurb, Barcelona.
The representative of the Catalonian government to the EU, Meritxell Serret, demanded on Tuesday (15 October) that other political actors, including the European institutions, now intervene to pave the way for a political dialogue between Spain and Catalonia. The country was recently plunged into its fourth national election campaign in as many years owing to the inability of the main parties in Congress to form a stable governing coalition.
But even from the early hours after the 493-page Supreme Court ruling was issued, very different views emerged from Madrid and Catalonia. Some of the convicted leaders have already said they will not ask for one.
"This sentence is an attack on democracy and the rights of all citizens", the president of the Catalan parliament, Roger Torrent, said.
Catalan lawmakers later declared independence.
Students are also planning to rally in Madrid today.
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