Spain: 3 Catalans who burned King's photos arrested
Members of far-left separatist Popular Unity Candidacy were arrested for not showing up in court
Activists set the portrait of Spanish King Philip V on fire, during a Pro-Independence demonstration as part of the celebrations of the National Day of Catalonia on September 11, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Albert Llop - Anadolu Agency)
By Alyssa McMurtry
MADRID
Catalan police Monday arrested at least three people, who are under investigation for burning photos of the king last September, during Catalonia´s regional holiday, for not showing up in court last Wednesday.
All three are members of the far-left separatist Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), according to Spanish daily El Pais. All
Several Catalan politicians from the CUP party tore up photos of Spanish King Felipe VI during a press conference in protest of the arrests.
“We vindicate disobedience as a valid mechanism for the construction of the Catalan Republic [...] we don´t have fear or a king,” said Mireia Vehí, a CUP member of the Catalan parliament, during the press conference in which she and five others tore pictures of Felipe VI to bits.
While the CUP party is a minority in the Catalan Parliament, it has joined forces with a center-right separatist coalition to push an independent Catalonia.
Last month, the mayor of a Catalan town was arrested after she refused to take down a separatist flag. Spanish authorities are also investigating other important separatist politicians, including former Catalan president Artur Mas, for holding a non-binding referendum in 2014.
