Protests turn ugly as pressure mounts on Spain’s acting government for amnesty talks with Catalans

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Three people have been arrested in a protest against negotiations between Spain’s acting government and Catalan separatist parties over a possible amnesty for thousands involved in Catalonia’s independence movement. Government authorities say that the arrests took place during a gathering by over 3,000 people in front of the national headquarters of Spain’s Socialist Party in Madrid late on Monday. The Socialists are negotiating with the separatist parties to receive their backing to form a new government and keep the center-left coalition in power. The separatist parties have demanded a sweeping amnesty that would include their leaders who fled Spain following their failed 2017 secession attempt.