Tens of thousands of supporters of Catalan independence have rallied in the Spanish capital Madrid in protest at an ongoing trial of 12 separatist leaders.

The leaders of Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid face rebellion and sedition charges. </s> Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Barcelona have taken part in a large demonstration against the imprisonment of Catalan leaders.

According to local media reports, 900 buses arrived in the city on Sunday morning carrying the protesters from all over Catalonia and cities in southern France.

The demonstrators were protesting the jailing of nine Catalan separatist leaders who are also facing trial on charges of "rebellion".

While the police said around 315,000 people turned up for the protests, organisers put the figure at more than 700,000, according to local media.

Catalan organisations Omnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) called these protests to mark six months since the arrest of two grassroots pro-independence activists.

The activists, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, were imprisoned for their role in the independence referendum in October last year.

Chanting "Freedom for the political prisoners", the demonstrators marched along Parallel Avenue, a main thoroughfare, many waving the red-and-yellow Catalan flag.

"Today’s demonstration is a march against repression, and we want to show once again that we are not a violent movement," Lidia Cerda, a teacher who was part of the protests, told Al Jazeera.

"We expect that a lot of people from Spanish and Catalan societies will join our cause because we are not only fighting for independence, but also for democracy.

"We hope that the government in Madrid will start listening to us."

European Union leaders have avoided encouraging other separatist movements across the bloc and have declined a mediation role in the Catalan issue.

Last November, European Council President Donald Tusk said, "All of us have our own emotions, opinions, assessments, but formally speaking there is no space for an EU intervention."

However, another protester, Xavier Cid Pineiro, argued, "Europe can guarantee our political rights as European citizens."

"Sooner or later, the EU should act as a mediator between Madrid and Barcelona. The demonstrations of today are against repression, to demand freedom for our political prisoners and to denounce the passivity of the EU," said Pineiro.

"I only hope that the EU will see this movement and that we can show our solidarity with political prisoners and their families."

Spain's government suspended Catalonia’s autonomy and imposed direct rule after the region's leader threatened to go ahead with a formal declaration of independence if Madrid refused to hold talks.

Last Thursday, Spain's Supreme Court refused to release Sanchez, preventing him being named as leader of the region on Friday.

If a new leader is not named before the end of May, Catalonia will be forced to call another election.

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was arrested by German police on March 25 after an international arrest warrant against him was issued by Spain's Supreme Court.

Puigdemont was charged with misuse of public funds in relation to the independence declaration, as well as "rebellion", a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

However, he was released on bail while awaiting a court decision on whether to extradite him to Spain. He had hoped to eventually return to live in Belgium. </s> MADRID (AP) - Tens of thousands are marching in Madrid to support Catalan politicians and activists standing trial for their attempt to secede from Spain.

The nine defendants face decades in prison on rebellion and other charges for staging a banned referendum in October 2017 and declaring Catalan independence, although they took no action to implement that.

Many supporters believe the defendants are "political prisoners."

Large pro-independence protests have been staged in Spain's northeastern region and in some European cities, but Saturday's is the first major separatist march in the Spanish capital.

Organizers expect 50,000 protesters, most of them traveling from Catalonia in some 500 buses.

A banner reading "self-determination is not a crime" opened the march.

Catalan pro-independence demonstrators hold "estelada," or separatist flags, as they arrive to Madrid, Spain, Saturday, March 16, 2019. Demonstrators made their way to Spain's capital to show support for former regional politicians who they consider political prisoners and are the defendants in an ongoing trial related to 2017 independence push. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Authorities in Madrid have deployed more than 500 police officers including riot police. </s> Thousands of Catalan separatists took to the streets of the Spanish capital Saturday to denounce the prosecution of 12 of their leaders, on trial for their part in the failed 2017 independence bid.

Police estimated that some 18,000 people marched through the city centre, the first such demonstration by Catalan separatists in Madrid since 2012.

Many of the protesters carried the red-and-yellow striped flag of Catalonia, and a banner at the front of the march read: “Self-determination is not a crime”.

The separatists denounce the court case mounted against the regional politicians as a politically motivated show trial.

Nine of the 12 on trial at Madrid’s Supreme Court face up to 25 years in jail on charges of rebellion and other offences for pushing a secession bid referendum in October 2017 in defiance of a court ban, and for a brief declaration of independence.

The moves sparked Spain’s deepest political crisis since the transition to democracy in the 1970s after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. </s> Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Barcelona’s Placa d’Espanya on April 15 to demand the release of Catalan leaders arrested after 2017’s failed independence referendum.Police in Barcelona said that some 315,000 people had taken part in the demonstration. Protesters came out on the streets in opposition to the pre-trial detention of independence leaders.The demonstration was organised by the National Catalan Assembly and Omnium, a Catalan cultural association. Leaders from both groups were jailed following the referendum.Former president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont tweeted his support for the demonstration from Germany, where he was arrested last month on an international warrant. Puigdemont had been in self-imposed exile in Belgium since he was removed from office in 2017, but he was arrested when he crossed into Germany while returning to Belgium from a business trip to Finland.A German court ruled that he could not be extradited to Spain on rebellion charges but is still considering an extradition on charges of corruption. The court has ordered him to remain in Germany and check in with police weekly. Credit: Mireia Rosés via Storyful </s> MADRID: Two jailed Catalan separatist leaders awaiting trial in a Spanish jail over their role in last year’s failed independence bid began a hunger strike on Saturday, their lawyer said.

Jordi Sanchez, the former head of the influential grassroots ANC independence movement, and Jordi Turull, a former minister in the Catalan regional government, are taking this step to “raise awareness” of their unfair treatment by Spain’s justice system, lawyer Jordi Pina told a news conference in Barcelona.

“I did not recommend this action, it is a decision of my clients and they have my full support,” he added.

In a statement read by Pina, the two men accused Spain’s Constitutional Court of blocking their appeals against their imprisonment from reaching the European Court of Human Rights. Pina said he did not know if the five other Catalan separatist leaders jailed in the Lledoners penitentiary located some 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Barcelona would later join the hunger strike.

Spain’s Supreme Court in October ordered a total of 18 former Catalan separatist leaders to stand trial over last year’s declaration of independence.

Prosecutors are seeking jail terms of up to 25 years on charges of rebellion or misuse of public funds over the failed secession bid. The sensitive trial is expected to start in early 2019 and will focus on the attempt by Catalan leaders to break away from Spain in October 2017 by staging a referendum despite a court ban and subsequently proclaiming independence.

Nine of the separatists remain in pre-trial detention, including the seven at the Lledoners prison who have been in jail for the last eight to 13 months without trial.

The announcement of the hunger strike comes a day after the first photo of the seven jailed Catalan leaders at the Lledoners prison was released by grassroots pro-independence organisation Omnium Cultural.

The picture — which was splashed on the cover of Catalan newspapers on Saturday — shows the seven men smiling and wearing casual clothes in one of the courtyards of the prison.

Omnium Cultural said it released the picture to send a message of “unity” ahead of the start of their trial.

In a statement, Catalan regional president Quim Torra expressed his “solidarity” with the two prisoners who began a hunger strike.

“This dramatic and drastic measure is being taken because of what we find to be the complete violation of citizens’ rights, civil and political rights, and of respect for the legal process. It’s my personal view that penal law is being used for vengeance,” he added. </s> MADRID (AP) — Thousands of people marched Saturday in Madrid to support Catalan politicians and activists who are on trial for their attempts to secede from Spain in October 2017.

The nine defendants face decades in prison on rebellion and other charges for staging a banned independence referendum for the northeastern region and pushing ahead with an independence declaration that Madrid deemed unconstitutional.

Large pro-independence protests have filled the streets of Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia and some European cities, but Saturday’s was the first major separatist march in the Spanish capital.

Organizers said 120,000 people attended, well beyond their expectations. Police put the number of marchers at around 18,000 and said no incidents were reported. It was not possible to reconcile the different crowd estimates.

A banner reading “Self-determination is not a crime” opened the demonstration, with Catalan politicians leading the way. Speaking to reporters at the scene, Catalonia’s regional president said the march in Madrid was needed in order to decry a trial that he described as a “farce.”

Many separatists in Catalonia believe the defendants in the Supreme Court case are political prisoners who are being tried for their ideas. Spain says the judicial process is fair and that its courts are fully independent from the government.

The trial is about to enter the fifth week of hearings. The proceedings in Madrid are being closely followed across the country, with media broadcasting live lengthy testimonies by defendants and witnesses and radios hosting in-depth debates about prosecution strategies.

A sentence is not expected until after Spain’s April 28 general election.

The issue of Catalan independence versus Spanish unity is a major topic for voters. The failed Catalan independence declaration in 2017 set off Spain’s most serious constitutional crisis in decades. </s> Pro-independence supporters raise banners as they attend a demonstration in Barcelona Thomson Reuters BARCELONA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Catalan independence supporters flooded the streets of Barcelona on Sunday calling for the release of jailed separatist leaders after a supreme court ruling frustrated their latest attempt to elect a regional leader. Around 350,000 demonstrators clogged several main city arteries waving flags and wearing yellow in support of separatist leaders jailed for their role in the region's banned drive to split from Spain last year.

Among the politicians facing charges of rebellion is Jordi Sanchez, the latest candidate put forward by Catalan lawmakers to become leader of the region.Supreme court judge Pablo Llarena refused last week to release him from jail and he faces up to 25 years on charges of rebellion, marking the latest of four unsuccessful attempts to elect a new leader. If a new leader is not named before the end of May, Catalonia will be forced to call another election. </s> BARCELONA, Spain — The Latest on Catalan independence activists (all times local):

A lawyer representing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other Catalan politicians who have been charged in Spain for violent rebellion has appealed to the U.N.’s Human Rights Committee to help defend their democratic rights.

Nico Krisch denounced a “grave interference in the democratic order” linked to the charges against Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium, as well as Oriol Junqueras, Raul Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull. The five are being held in pre-trial detention in Spain.

The Catalan politicians have been charged and suspended from office by Spain’s Supreme Court for their roles in organizing an independence referendum in Catalonia 14 months ago.

The effort announced Thursday seeks the Geneva-based committee’s intervention to help ensure their democratic right to exercise their parliamentary mandate.

A spokeswoman for four jailed Catalan separatist leaders says they are abandoning their hunger strike more than two weeks after starting it because they consider that their protest has achieved its goals.

Speaking on behalf of the politicians, who are awaiting trial for their part in last year’s attempt to secede from Spain, Pilar Calvo said Thursday the strike has drawn attention to the separatists’ plight and prompted Spain’s constitutional Court to review some of their appeals, which enables them to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Pro-independence activist-turned-politician Jordi Sanchez and former Catalan cabinet member Jordi Turull began their hunger strike on Dec. 1. Ex-regional ministers Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn joined two days later.

The constitutional Court had said the appeals were following the normal judicial calendar.
Thousands of demonstrators protest in Madrid against the trial of Catalan independence leaders and the ongoing detention of some of them. Local police say around 18,000 protestors were involved; organisers claim almost 120,000.