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Protesters in Barcelona on February 21
Photo: ALENJANDRO GARCIA / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
It was the fifth night of the riot in a row: after the arrest of the rapper Pablo Hasél, there were riots again in Spain.
In Barcelona, numerous shops in the city center were looted and barricades set on fire.
Historic buildings were also damaged, the Catalan police said: for example, the Barcelona Stock Exchange and the Art Nouveau building Palau de la Música Catalana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
According to the AFP news agency, police arrested 38 people across Catalonia.
There were also protests in the capital, Madrid, and in other Spanish cities.
Demonstrations have been taking place every evening in Spain since Tuesday.
They began in Hasél's native Catalonia, but have since expanded to Madrid and other cities.
There have been several clashes between demonstrators and the police.
In total, more than a hundred people have been arrested, 95 in Catalonia alone.
Hasél barricaded himself in the university
In 2016, Hasél called the corrupt Old King Juan Carlos, who has since fled to Abu Dhabi, a “thief” and a “mafioso” and verbally attacked him in a song.
Then the Catalan refused to serve the nine-month prison term and barricaded himself for days in the university in his hometown of Lleida.
When he was finally taken away by the police on Tuesday, he shouted with a raised fist: "We will never shut up!"
On Thursday he was sentenced to another two and a half years in prison for allegedly threatening a witness in a trial against two police officers.
In two open letters, more than 300 musicians, writers, actors and artists took Hasél under protection, including Hollywood stars Pedro Almodóvar and Javier Bardem.
Spain is "on a par with countries like Turkey or Morocco, where artists are also in jail for denouncing state abuse."
Since the passing of the »Law for the Protection of Citizens' Security« in 2015 by the then conservative government of Mariano Rajoy - in common parlance: »Gag Law« - artists, YouTubers and journalists have landed in the dock again and again.
Sometimes there are prison sentences, sometimes heavy fines, and occasionally acquittals.
However, the outrage has never been as widespread as it is now.
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bah / dpa / AFP