Eleven days after the arrest in Spain of rapper Pablo Hasél, the demonstrations were not weakening in Barcelona.
A new rally degenerated this Saturday into clashes with the police.
The demonstration, in particular in support of the rapper condemned and imprisoned for tweets attacking the monarchy and the police, but which generally carried other social demands, brought together several hundred people, according to an AFP journalist.
#LibertadPabloHasel I Nueva jornada de manifestación en #Barcelona exigiendo la libertad de # PabloHasel # PabloHaselLlibertat #AmnistiaTotal pic.twitter.com/eLgxCd7OkS
- IzquierdaDiario.es (@iDiarioES) February 27, 2021
It degenerated in the early evening, giving rise to acts of vandalism and the looting of bank branches, one of which was set on fire, said the Catalan police, who spoke of "hooded rioters" attacking "the businesses, and in particular banks ”, and specifying that one of his police vans had been burned, as had many garbage cans or containers.
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At least ten people were arrested during the clashes, said Catalan police, one of whom is "involved in the fire of the van".
Since mid-February, more than 110 demonstrators have been arrested in this region of northeastern Spain, according to Catalan police.
An eventful arrest
Pablo Hasél, 32, was sentenced to nine months in prison for apologizing for terrorism, for having in a tweet called King Juan Carlos I a "mafioso", praised people involved in attacks and accused the police of 'killing and torturing migrants and protesters.
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His arrest on February 16 in rather spectacular circumstances at the University of Lleida, where he was barricaded with dozens of supporters wanting to prevent his arrest, led to protests marked by incidents in several other cities in Spain such as Madrid. , Valencia (east) and Granada (south).
⚠️Ara mateix⚠️ Se'n porten
a @PabloHasel entre crits de llibertat! #LlibertatPabloHasel #LibertadPabloHasel pic.twitter.com/cq97yGsokE
- jordicosta1425 (@ jordicosta1425) February 16, 2021
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.
