Two women taunting crowd of Catalan independence supporters with Spanish flags are dragged away

Two women taunting a crowd of Catalan independence supporters by waving Spanish flags were dragged away after the mob threw bottles at them in shocking footage.

Riot police were forced to step in at Tarraco Square in Tarragona, near Barcelona, as violent clashes erupted for the third consecutive day in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In the clip, the woman stand in front of hundreds of chanting pro-independence protesters before they are mobbed and dragged away by the angry crowd.

Police brandish shields as they surround the crowd after some demonstrators hurled firecrackers and bottles as tensions flared in the region.   

Two women taunting a crowd of Catalan independence supporters by waving Spanish flags were dragged away after the mob threw bottles at them in shocking footage

The violence comes as Belgium has received a third arrest warrant request from Spain’s Supreme Court for Catalonia’s former pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont. The country turned down the first two requests, made in 2017 and 2018. 

Puigdemont went into self-imposed exile in Belgium in 2017 after Catalan separatist leaders organised a referendum that Spanish courts had ruled illegal and made a short-lived declaration of independence.

The protests began after nine Catalan independence leaders were handed jail sentences of between nine and 13 years by Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday. 

Spain’s Supreme Court filed its third extradition today. 

In the clip, the woman stand in front of hundreds of chanting pro-independence protesters before they are mobbed and dragged away by the angry crowd

In the clip, the woman stand in front of hundreds of chanting pro-independence protesters before they are mobbed and dragged away by the angry crowd

Police brandish shields as they surround the crowd after some demonstrators hurled firecrackers and bottles as tensions flared in the region

Police brandish shields as they surround the crowd after some demonstrators hurled firecrackers and bottles as tensions flared in the region

Police brandish shields as they surround the crowd after some demonstrators hurled firecrackers and bottles as tensions flared in the region

‘Considering the complexity of the file and the two European arrest warrants previously sent against Mr. Puigdemont, the case will require a thorough judicial analysis,’ The Brussels prosecutor’s spokeswoman said.

It may take weeks to reach a decision, she said, adding that the key issue for local authorities would be to decide if the convictions for sedition were legally recognised in Belgium.

Belgian courts had used the same criterion in rejecting the first two Spanish requests.

The latest warrant was submitted in Spanish. The law requires that it be sent in one of Belgium’s three national languages or English so Spain will send a new one next week, the spokeswoman said.   

Thousands of people held vigils near the Spanish government offices in Catalonia's four provinces (pictured)

Thousands of people held vigils near the Spanish government offices in Catalonia’s four provinces (pictured)

Protesters create a burning barricade during a rally on Tuesday. In unusually tense confrontations, protesters threw cans, stones and flares at riot police, and set garbage containers and cardboard on fire

Protesters create a burning barricade during a rally on Tuesday. In unusually tense confrontations, protesters threw cans, stones and flares at riot police, and set garbage containers and cardboard on fire

Thousands of people have held held vigils near the Spanish government offices in Catalonia’s four provinces.

But it was in the northeastern regional capital, Barcelona, where police charged at protesters on Tuesday after some hurled firecrackers and other objects at the officers and kicked temporary fences put in place to protect the building.

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. 

This morning it emerged that Spanish cops had arrested 51 people overnight across Catalonia. Madrid claimed today that 72 police officers have been injured during violence over the last two days.

A protester waves the Catalan flag during a rally. Demonstrators erected improvised barricades with trash bins, fences and piles of cardboard that they set on fire

A protester waves the Catalan flag during a rally. Demonstrators erected improvised barricades with trash bins, fences and piles of cardboard that they set on fire

In Barcelona, protesters sang the Catalan anthem and shouted 'The streets will always be ours' and `'Independence,' while they called Spanish police 'occupying forces' and urged them to leave Catalonia

In Barcelona, protesters sang the Catalan anthem and shouted ‘The streets will always be ours’ and `’Independence,’ while they called Spanish police ‘occupying forces’ and urged them to leave Catalonia

Policemen in riot gear escort a woman during clashes between protestors and police in Barcelona

Policemen in riot gear escort a woman during clashes between protestors and police in Barcelona

A protesters raises his fist at police across a burning barricade during clashes on Tuesday night

A protesters raises his fist at police across a burning barricade during clashes on Tuesday night

Riot police stand next a burning barricade during clashes with Catalan pro independence protesters in Barcelona

Riot police stand next a burning barricade during clashes with Catalan pro independence protesters in Barcelona

A fire is seen on a street during a protest after a verdict in a trial over a banned independence referendum in Barcelona

A fire is seen on a street during a protest after a verdict in a trial over a banned independence referendum in Barcelona

Protesters shout during the protests and some wrap themselves in flags during another night of upheaval

Protesters shout during the protests and some wrap themselves in flags during another night of upheaval 

Further Catalan protests erupted last night amid furious clashes with riot police over the conviction of separatist leaders

Further Catalan protests erupted last night amid furious clashes with riot police over the conviction of separatist leaders

A journalist falls on the ground during clashes between protesters and police in Barcelona

A journalist falls on the ground during clashes between protesters and police in Barcelona

A fire burns in front of Catalan regional police 'Mossos D'Esquadra' officers during a protest in front of the Spanish Government delegations in Barcelona

A fire burns in front of Catalan regional police ‘Mossos D’Esquadra’ officers during a protest in front of the Spanish Government delegations in Barcelona

Protesters erected improvised barricades with trash bins, fences, and piles of cardboard that they set on fire.

The evening vigils, also in Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, as well as smaller towns across Catalonia, had been called by ANC and Omnium, two grassroots pro-secession groups whose leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart were sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for sedition.

Seven politicians were also given prison terms of around a decade in Monday’s landmark Supreme Court ruling and three more were fined for disobeying the laws as they pushed ahead with a banned referendum on October 1, 2017, and briefly declaring independence based on its results before Spain crushed the defiance.

Activists also blocked highways, smaller roads and railway tracks for brief periods on Tuesday, following an attempt to besiege Barcelona’s international airport the night before that left thousands of passengers stranded. 

Many, desperate to catch their flights, were forced to walk with their luggage on highways and across fields.

A riot police officer detains a separatist demonstrator during fresh protests on Tuesday night

A riot police officer detains a separatist demonstrator during fresh protests on Tuesday night

Protesters light a flare in front of the Spanish Government delegations in Barcelona on Tuesday night

Protesters light a flare in front of the Spanish Government delegations in Barcelona on Tuesday night

Police clash with protesters during a protest on Mallorca Street near the Spanish Government Delegation

Police clash with protesters during a protest on Mallorca Street near the Spanish Government Delegation

A fire burns in front of Catalan regional police 'Mossos D'Esquadra' officers during the protests

A fire burns in front of Catalan regional police ‘Mossos D’Esquadra’ officers during the protests

They erected improvised barricades with trash bins, fences, and piles of cardboard that they set on fire

They erected improvised barricades with trash bins, fences, and piles of cardboard that they set on fire

The evening vigils, also in Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, as well as smaller towns across Catalonia, had been called by ANC and Omnium, two grassroots pro-secession groups whose leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart were sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for sedition

The evening vigils, also in Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, as well as smaller towns across Catalonia, had been called by ANC and Omnium, two grassroots pro-secession groups whose leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart were sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for sedition

A protester gestures to the police as people take part in a protest against the jailing of Catalan separatists

A protester gestures to the police as people take part in a protest against the jailing of Catalan separatists

People, waving Estelada pro Catalonia independence flags, march during a protest in Brussels on Tuesday

People, waving Estelada pro Catalonia independence flags, march during a protest in Brussels on Tuesday

Protesters clash with Spanish riot policemen outside El Prat airport in Barcelona on Monday

Protesters clash with Spanish riot policemen outside El Prat airport in Barcelona on Monday

Authorities said that three people were arrested and more than 170 others injured in Monday’s protests, including about 40 police officers and a protester who lost an eye. 

The airport authority said that 110 flights were canceled on Monday and 45 on Tuesday. Nearly 1,000 were operating normally, AENA said.

Most impromptu protests are responding to an online campaign by Tsunami Democratic, a loose, leaderless grassroots group that uses encrypted messaging apps to call for peaceful disobedience.

Spain’s caretaker interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said that authorities were investigating the group.

The court also barred the 12 convicted Catalan separatists from holding public office. 

That has an immediate impact in the upcoming November 10 Spanish election because six of them were planning to run as candidates to the national parliament.

The verdict is likely to be a central issue in the run up to the vote but ‘it is unlikely to substantially alter the electoral outlook unless the situation worsens significantly in the region,’ said Antonio Barroso, a political risk analyst with the London-based Teneo consulting firm.

He said Catalan separatist politicians wanted to use the backlash against the ruling to woo pro-independence voters to the polls.

Others have feared that swelling support for Catalan separatism because of the sentences could make the next political term even more key to either breaking the deadlock with separatists or making it a chronicle problem. 

Riot police carry their shields as the units walk past a barricade on fire during a demonstration at El Prat airport as clashes erupted on Monday evening

Riot police carry their shields as the units walk past a barricade on fire during a demonstration at El Prat airport as clashes erupted on Monday evening

Ousted former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont takes part in a protest with Catalan supporters in Brussels

Ousted former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont takes part in a protest with Catalan supporters in Brussels

Spain’s caretaker prime minister and Socialist leader, Pedro Sanchez, who won the April election but failed to get support for a minority government, is hoping to remain in office.

But even from the early hours after the 493-page Supreme Court ruling was issued, very different views emerged from Madrid and Catalonia. 

While Sanchez called for beginning a ‘new phase’ and urged Catalan separatists to abide by the law, the ruling invigorated the wealthy region’s independence movement, with many of its leaders making new calls to work toward effective secession or repeating the slogan ‘we will do it again.’

Cuixart said over email via his lawyer that he and the others sentenced by the Supreme Court will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

‘We have the moral obligation to denounce (Spain’s) authoritarian drift and appeal to European citizens to defend human rights,’ Cuixart Tuesday.

The Catalan regional president, Quim Torra, said secessionists won’t give up their fight.

‘A referendum is the most positive solution for solving this situation,’ he told foreign reporters in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The caretaker Spanish foreign minister, Josep Borrell, soon due to become the European Union’s top diplomat, said the sentence wasn’t resolving the underlying political problems that only dialogue ‘in the framework of the Constitution’ could.

Demonstrators blocked a corridor inside El Prat Airport in Barcelona with luggage trolleys after nine separatist leaders were jailed on Monday over a failed independence bid

Demonstrators blocked a corridor inside El Prat Airport in Barcelona with luggage trolleys after nine separatist leaders were jailed on Monday over a failed independence bid

Spain’s constitutional law says that the country is indivisible.

‘Yesterday, today and tomorrow it is and remains a political problem that has to be solved,’ Borrell told foreign reporters, adding that Catalan separatists shouldn’t ignore Catalans like him who are against independence.

‘When one excludes part of the population because they don’t think like one, and only considers as the people those who think like one, this is a totalitarian attitude,’ he said.

Meanwhile, a former member of the Catalan regional government who was among the sentenced said he regretted that the situation ended so badly.

Santi Vila, who evaded a prison sentence but was fined for disobedience, said ‘we should have been more capable of creating a framework of trust between the government of Catalonia and the government of Spain’ so as ‘to put the conflict on the right track.’

Considered a traitor by the pro-independence camp, Vila resigned as Catalonia’s business minister a day before the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared secession on October 27, 2017.

Protests are likely to extend throughout the week. A three-day student strike begins Wednesday in the region, and a worker’s union has called a separate strike for Friday.

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