Madrid (AFP)
Dozens of people have been arrested in Spain after further violent protests on the night of Wednesday to Thursday in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities of the country, after the imprisonment of a Catalan rapper convicted of insults to the monarchy and to the police.
The protests began on Tuesday evening in Catalonia (northeast) after the arrest of Pablo Hasél, 32, who had barricaded himself in a university in Lérida on Monday in order to escape prison.
He had been sentenced to nine months in prison for tweets in which he insulted the Spanish police and attacked the monarchy.
Hundreds of people gathered in Puerta del Sol, right in the center of the capital, heavily guarded by security forces, behind banners which proclaimed "Enough censorship" and demanded "Freedom" for Pablo Hasél.
"These are urban guerrilla techniques that were used yesterday in Madrid," the city's conservative mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, denounced Thursday.
In Catalonia, the regional police arrested 33 people, including ten in Barcelona and 14 in Lleida.
Eight people were slightly injured in this region, according to the emergency services.
In Barcelona, demonstrators threw projectiles at the police and set barricades on fire.
The police charged and fired back with rubber bullets.
Four people were also arrested in Granada, Andalusia (south).
Pablo Hasél had refused to surrender to the police on Friday, the last deadline to do so and start serving his sentence, challenging the authorities to arrest him.
© 2021 AFP