Pro-secession Catalan groups call more protests

BARCELONA, Spain — Civil society groups in Catalonia are calling for new protests over the jailing of their pro-independence leaders by Spanish authorities.

Spain’s National Court ordered the leaders of Assemblea Nacional Catalana and Omnium Cultural, the grassroots organizations behind the separatist bid, to be held for allegedly orchestrating protests in mid-September that hindered a judicial investigation into preparations for the banned October 1 referendum.

The group says that the first gathering will be later today at the gates of the central government’s office in Barcelona, but a bigger march is planned in Catalonia’s regional capital for Saturday afternoon.

— AP