Sixth riot night in a row after rapper imprisonment in Spain

Sixth riot night in a row after rapper imprisonment in Spain

Again in Barcelona protests against the arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél, who was convicted of glorifying violence and insulting the monarchy, led to violence between demonstrators and the police. Some of the mostly very young demonstrators in Barcelona carried a banner on Sunday evening that read: “You have taught us that peacefulness is pointless”.

However, the demonstration was smaller and there were far fewer riots than in the previous five nights. According to the Spanish media, around 1000 people took part. On Saturday there were still at least 6,000 participants. Smaller rallies have also been reported from Girona and Bilbao in the Basque Country.

Nevertheless, the police were occasionally pelted with bottles, rubbish bins and firecrackers, and some shop windows broke, as can be seen on TV pictures. The police have arrested five people who ransacked a fashion shop, reported the newspaper “El Periódico”.

106 people, including 32 minors, have been arrested in Barcelona since the protests began. 82 police officers and numerous demonstrators were injured, as the newspaper «La Vanguardia» wrote. A woman lost an eye on Tuesday when she was hit by a police rubber bullet.

The imprisonment of Hasel, who shows deep hatred of the police and politics in some of his texts and in tweets, also sparked tensions in the left-wing coalition government in Madrid. The socialists accused their smaller coalition partner Unidas Podemos of insufficiently condemning the violence. The government is fundamentally willing to change the law so that there are no more prison sentences for cases like Hasél. However, proceedings are pending against the 32-year-old for threatening a witness and assaulting a journalist. (sda / dpa)