Catalan leader Quim Torra tells parliament there must be a new independence vote

Catalonia's pro-independence regional leader Quim Torra has called for a new vote on self-determination for the region.

Speaking to Catalonia's regional parliament, Torra said on Thursday a new vote would have to be held to decide self-determination for the region.

The region has been rocked by protests for the past three days after Spain's Supreme Court jailed nine separatist leaders over a failed 2017 independence bid where they held a referendum that national courts considered illegal.

Torra also condemned the violence that's surfaced in the recent protests, saying "peaceful means are the only way forward for separatists."

He added that there was a "false narrative" that Catalan separatists are "violent."

Madrid has decided to send more police to Catalonia after the three days of unrest, said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on national TV, adding that this was to guarantee security and to allow police already there to rest.

Protesters have set cars on fire and threw petrol bombs at police in Barcelona on Wednesday, continuing the unrest sparked by the sentencing of the Catalan separatist leaders.