Police charge separatist protesters at Barcelona airport Spanish police repeatedly charge separatist demonstrators at the entrance to Barcelona's El Prat airport after the Spanish Supreme Court handed nine of their leaders sentences ranging from nine to thirteen years in prison for their role in Catalonia's attempted secession in 2017. The long-awaited ruling capped weeks of rising tension, and puts the Catalan question at the heart of the political debate less than a month before Spain heads into its fourth general election in as many years. IMAGES of clashes against police inside airport