Catalan government ministers Joaquim Forn and Dolors Bassa were abused by about a dozen Spanish nationalists when they arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday night from Brussels, where they had traveled with president Carles Puigdemont. Forn and Bassa, ministers of Interior and Employment respectively, were faced with a group of people shouting "Off to prison" in the airport arrivals hall.
The two ministers, dismissed from their roles last week as part of the measures taken under article 155, had landed at the Barcelona-El Prat airport just after 11pm, and 20 minutes later emerged through the arrivals doors.
Perhaps they thought that they would be received among|between petals of roses|pinks and starlit skies... it will be than. See, see... ¡Spain is defended!! pic.twitter.com/bep0tjtCwn
— DaniPintoB (@DaniPintoB) 31 of October 2017
Això és una vergonya per a tots nosaltres. Només els han anat a rebre els feixistes. Humiliació rere humiliació. https://t.co/c4494LBKoh
— Eduard Voltas (@eduardvoltas) 31 of October 2017
Translation: This is shameful for all of us. Only the fascists went out to meet them. Humiliation after humiliation - Eduard Voltas
When they emerged into the public area, a group of scarcely more than ten people unfurled several Spanish flags and used a megaphone to broadcast the song Que Viva España and began to verbally abuse them with shouts of "Off to prison", "Dogs", "Traitors" and "Where is your republic?"
Harassment of Forn as far as his car
Members of this group pursued Forn until he was practically at his car to harass him and were able to get physically close to him, requiring the Mossos to intervene to protect the minister.
Dozens of media professionals had been waiting for the Catalan ministers members at the airport since early evening. They had accompanied president Carles Puigdemont at his press conference in Brussels on Tuesday, but the president had not returned with them. Neither of the two ministers wanted to make statements to the press.