Ten members of a pro-independence protest group chained themselves to an entrance to Barcelona's metro network for an hour this Saturday evening. The activists, from a CDR (Committee for the Defence of the Republic) group, attached themselves to the doors of the central Arc de Triomf metro and rail station to demand the release of the seven CDR activists that have been jailed and accused of terrorism by Spain's National Audience court. The action lasted for about an hour, until the protesters themselves called it off.
"Today we wanted to transmit a clear message: #detinguts23s, you're not alone!" said the Gòtic-Raval CDR in a tweet, using the hashtag to refer to the CDR activists arrested in a 500-officer Civil Guard operation on 23rd September. "We will not allow them to impose their repressive normality." "We'll return when you least expect it. The threats we have received from the Mossos police won't make us back down!"
The activists mounted the protest at the end of a rally of around a hundred people from various CDRs in the city. The march started shortly after 6pm in Plaça Urquinaona, going via Carrer Trafalgar, to the Arc de Triomf. There, the CDR members explained the situation of the arrested pro-independence supporters to metro and train users. "Excuse us for holding you up, but they have taken hostages," they said to the public.