Protesters were gathering for a fresh round of demonstrations in Barcelona today to demand the release of two leaders of Catalonia's pro-independence movement who were jailed in a sedition probe.
A Madrid judge on Monday provisionally jailed Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, the leaders of grassroots organisations Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural.
The judge ruled they were the orchestrators of massive demonstrations September 20-21 in Barcelona that hindered a police operation against preparations for the October 1 independence referendum.
Protests have been called at midday today in Barcelona, the Catalan capital, and an evening demonstration is also planned.
Some 500 students left classrooms in one of Barcelona's main universities to join the demonstrations.
"We urge the release of our political prisoners and call on Catalan authorities to revoke the suspension of the independence declaration and proclaim the Catalan republic," said Aina Delgado Morell, a representative of Universitats per la Republica, a pro-independence student organisation.
Students would keep protests going to "stop the repression by the Spanish state," she added.
Thousands of supporters banged pots and pans and honked car horns in Barcelona following the independence leaders' jailing yesterday.
The judge's order came nearly 12 hours after a yesterday morning deadline passed without the president of Catalonia clarifying whether he has declared independence from Spain.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont made an ambiguous declaration of independence last week, based on the results of the October 1 referendum.
Puigdemont now has until today to backtrack on any steps the region has taken toward secession. If he refuses, the government has said it would invoke constitutional authority to restrict or revoke the areas of self-governance Catalonia has now.
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