The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has announced the protest actions it intends to organize to coincide with the transfer of the pro-independence political prisoners from the Catalan prisons where they are currently held to Madrid for their upcoming trial. Protests against the transfer, now set for Friday after initially being expected on Tuesday, will make strong use of a slogan in English: "Fake justice".
The ANC's message, in the first place, makes a general call to encourage people to hang estelada flags on balconies. More specifically, territorial sections of the pro-independence group will line roads and occupy bridges along the route the prisoners are expected to take en route to Madrid and they encourage supporters to bring banners and flags. "We'll give them all the energy we can before they leave", says the ANC.
On the evening of that same day protest rallies will be held in the Catalan county capitals with the slogans #fakejustice and #makeamove. In Barcelona, the main demonstration will take place at 7 pm at the Jardinets de Gràcia.
In parallel, banners with the slogan "Fake justice" in English will be hung on buildings and town halls with the intention of telling the world "that the right to self-determination is being violated and people should take a stand." Two days later, the action will culminate with new banners: "Self-determination is a right, not a crime. Make a move".
The initiatives for the transfer, however, will continue once the prisoners have arrived in Madrid. The ANC advises that, starting the day after the transfer, the group will be assembled outside the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona's Plaça Sant Jaume to ask the Catalan government "what they are doing to apply the mandate from the 1st October referendum". The precise format that this action is to take will be announced shortly.
The exact date for the start of trial of the 12 Catalan civil and political leaders is still not certain, as some pre-trial issues, such as the acceptance or rejection of defence witnesses, are still being processed. Defence lawyers believe that the most likely dates for the start of the trial in the Supreme Court are February 5th or 12th.