Tens of thousands of demonstrators waving Catalan flags and chanting “Independence!” and “Freedom for political prisoners!” poured into Barcelona on Friday, the fifth day of protests against the jailing of separatist leaders.

Many of the marchers began their journeys to the city on Wednesday from municipalities across the northeastern Spanish region, after the Supreme Court sentenced nine separatists to up to 13 years in jail over a failed bid to break away from Spain in 2017.

The sentences set off the worst sustained street violence Spain has seen in decades, and Friday’s protests, that also include workers on strike, will be closely watched by authorities in Madrid.

“Throughout this week, as you well know, there have been violent incidents in Catalonia. They have been organized … by groups who are a minority but are very organized,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a news conference. “Their actions, as we have already said, will also not go unpunished”.

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