POLICE clashed with protesters in Barcelona yesterday after the country’s Supreme Court jailed nine Catalan political leaders for up to 13 years each.

They were found guilty of sedition for holding an unconstitutional referendum and declaring independence for the Spanish region in October 2017.

Activists fought with police as they tried to occupy Barcelona’s El Prat airport, with authorities having braced themselves for popular fury at the sentences.

Catalonia’s former vice-president Oriol Junqueras received 13 years in jail, the longest sentence of the group.

Former speaker of the Catalan parliament  Carme Forcadell was jailed for 11-and-a-half years.

Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, the leaders of two pro-independence groups, were sentenced to nine years each for sedition.

All nine of those handed prison sentences have been held in preventive custody since before the trial began.  

Spain will go to the polls again next month after incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez failed to secure the votes required to be confirmed in post in April.

It will be the fourth general election in four years, after Mr Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party received the most votes but failed to win a majority.