About 170,000 people marched through Madrid on Saturday in the largest protest yet against an amnesty law which Spain's Socialists agreed over Catalonia's 2017 separatist bid in order to form a government.
The demonstration, the latest in a series of protests in cities across the country against the amnesty, took place two days after Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez won a four-year term with the backing of Catalan and Basque nationalist parties in return for agreeing to the law.
Protesters, many waving Spanish flags and holding signs that read "Sanchez traitor" and "Don't sell Spain", demonstrated against the law which four judicial associations, opposition political parties and business leaders said threatens the rule of law and the separation of powers.
After the rally, hundreds of people protested in the motorway near the Moncloa Palace, the prime minister's residence in Madrid.
The independence referendum was declared illegal by the courts and resulted in Spain's worst political crisis for decades.
Protesters, including neo-Nazi groups, have held rowdy demonstrations outside the Socialist headquarters in Madrid for 15 nights consecutively since the deal was announced.
There have been clashes with police which left officers and demonstrators injured but in general the protests have been peaceful.
The original article contains 406 words, the summary contains 170 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!