Thousands protest outside Catalonian court against referendum arrests

Barcelona, Sep 21 (IANS) At least 20,000 people gathered outside the Catalonian region's higher court in Barcelona on Thursday to protest against the arrest of 14 officials for their alleged involvement in the preparation of an independence referendum that the Spanish judiciary has deemed unconstitutional.

The demonstrators waved Catalonian flags and held up ballot boxes as they denounced the "heavy-handed" treatment of the referendum by Spanish authorities, following Wednesday's wave of arrests of higher-ups in regional departments, Efe news reported.

"We are here to demand liberty for the detained, because they are civil servants that have worked to defend our rights," said Carme Forcadell, President of the regional parliament, adding that she would not stop until they were free.

She urged people to show they were not afraid by voting in the referendum, slated for October 1.

Protests have been ongoing in the city since Wednesday, as people took to the streets to defend a referendum that they consider to be democratic and the Spanish state considers illegal and unconstitutional.

Legal and judicial associations said Thursday's court protest was an attack on the judiciary's independence and should be ignored.

Celso Rodriguez, spokesperson for the conservative Professional Association of Magistrates (APM), said: "Coercion to the judicial apparatus cannot hide itself as freedom of expression."

The Francisco de Vitoria Judges Association said the protest was embarrassing and unacceptable and could even be a criminal act.

The progressive group Judges for Democracy said neither freedom of expression nor of assembly had been suspended or revoked by the Constitution, meaning they still had to be respected, though spokesman Ignacio Gonzalez warned that on this occasion the demonstration could be considered an attack on judicial independence.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)