Barcelona Demands Justice for Journalists Killed in Gaza

Photo Feature by Ihosvanny (Special to Havana Times)

HAVANA TIMES – On Wednesday afternoon, Barcelona’s Plaça de Sant Jaume was filled with banners, cameras, and voices demanding justice for journalists killed in the Gaza Strip. The demonstration was organized by Catalan journalists, with the support of 145 works councils, unions, professional associations, media outlets, the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, and the Prou Complicitat coalition. Reporters Without Borders and the College of Journalists of Catalonia also participated, reading a joint manifesto. Chants of “Free, Free Palestine”, “Boycott Israel”, and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” echoed across the square, a collective call against repression and for the end of the occupation.

Among the demonstrators in Sant Jaume was Catalan filmmaker and activist Mi Hoa Lee, who today marks thirteen days on a hunger strike as part of the international Empty Stomach Movement. Her protest, which began on August 1, aims to raise awareness of the famine and humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza, and to urge both the Spanish government and the Catalan Generalitat to end any complicity with Israel.

Participants also observed moments of silence in memory of the 238 journalists killed since the start of the Israeli offensive, many of them clearly identified as press at the time of their deaths. Protesters carried photographs of Palestinian reporters alongside data documenting this alarming number. Several speakers emphasized that these killings are not only attacks on individuals but also violations of society’s right to know the truth and ensure the voices of the victims are not silenced.

After the rally in Sant Jaume, thousands of participants marched along Via Laietana to Plaça de Catalunya, where Mi Hoa Lee continues her hunger strike encampment. In an atmosphere of grief and determination, the demonstration made it clear that Barcelona joins international voices demanding that crimes against journalists in Gaza do not go unpunished. The images from this afternoon show both the outrage and solidarity of those gathered in the political heart of the city, aware that defending press freedom is also defending the most fundamental human rights, even in the midst of war.

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