Police van set on fire, garbage cans on fire and looting: eleven days after the arrest in Spain of rapper Pablo Hasél, the demonstrations were not weakening in Barcelona, and a new rally degenerated this Saturday into clashes with the police.
Read also: The arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél divides Spain and its government
The demonstration, whose slogan was "
Lluitar, crear poder popular
" ("
fight, create popular power
" in Catalan), was held in particular in support of the rapper condemned and imprisoned for tweets attacking the monarchy and the forces of order, but generally carried other social demands.
Several hundred participants marched behind a large banner announcing "
Until they fall."
Nothing to lose.
Everything to gain,
”according to an AFP journalist.
A police van this Saturday in Barcelona.
NACHO DOCE / REUTERS
"
The case of Pablo just reveals that we live in a fascist state (...) that we have to fight and that this is a violation of fundamental rights
," Adria told AFP. 26-year-old musician who came to demonstrate and did not want to give his last name.
“
Who am I to judge what he puts in his words.
But that they condemn him for that seems to me an attack on freedom of expression,
”said Barbar Salazar, a 36-year-old doctor.
Spanish police officers this Saturday in Barcelona.
ALBERT GEA / REUTERS
"
Hooded rioters
"
The rally degenerated in the early evening, giving rise to acts of vandalism and the looting of bank branches, one of which was set on fire.
Broken windows, tagged facades and jets of Molotov cocktails, one of which burned a police van, several “
hooded rioters
” attacked, according to several tweets from the Catalan police “
businesses, and in particular banks
” which confirmed that one of his vehicles had been burnt, as were many garbage cans or containers.
At least ten people were arrested during the clashes, Catalan police said on Twitter, one of whom is "
involved in the fire of the van
".
Windows have been smashed.
NACHO DOCE / REUTERS
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez judged in a tweet "
unacceptable the acts of vandalism and violence which rocked Barcelona last night
", giving all his "
support
" to the police.
Since mid-February, more than 110 protesters have been arrested in this northeastern region, police said.
Barcelona, the heart of the crisis
Pablo Hasél, 32, was sentenced to nine months in prison for apologizing for terrorism, for calling King Juan Carlos I a "
mafioso
", praising people involved in attacks and accusing the police of having killed and tortured migrants and demonstrators.
His arrest on February 16 in rather spectacular circumstances at the University of Lleida, where he was barricaded with sympathizers wanting to prevent his arrest, led to protests marked by incidents in several other cities in Spain such as Madrid, Valencia and Grenada.
A burnt down police car.
ALBERT GEA / REUTERS
In Barcelona, where this social rebellion is most marked, violent demonstrations come almost daily denouncing the record youth unemployment rate at the European Union level (40.2%), precariousness, or even the rise in rents.
The imprisonment of Pablo Hasél also revived the debate on freedom of expression in Spain and reinforced the differences within the government coalition between the socialists of President Pedro Sanchez and the Podemos party (radical left) which supports the demonstrations.