Spain: Riots again to protest the arrest of Pablo Hassel

It was the fifth night of the riots in a row: After the arrest of rapper Pablo Hassel, riots broke out again in Spain. In Barcelona, ​​many shops in the city center were looted and barricades set ablaze.

Catalan police said historic buildings were also damaged: for example, Bursa Barcelona And the Art Nouveau Palau de la Música Catalana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

According to Agence France-Presse, police have arrested 38 people across Catalonia. There were also protests in the capital, Madrid, and in other Spanish cities.

Demonstrations have been held every evening in Spain since Tuesday. They began in the original Catalonia in Hassel, but have since spread to Madrid and other cities. There were several clashes between the demonstrators and the police. In total, more than a hundred people were arrested, 95 in Catalonia alone.

Hassel barricaded in the university

Hasél was spoiled Altkönig in 2016 Juan CarlosWho has since fled to Abu Dhabi, called him “a thief” and “Mafioso” and verbally attacked him in a song. Then the Catalan refused to spend nine months in prison and barricaded for several days at the university in his hometown of Lleida. When the police finally took him away on Tuesday, he shouted, with a raised fist, “We will never be silent!”

On Thursday, he was sentenced to an additional two and a half years in prison for threatening a witness in a trial against two police officers.

In two open letters, more than 300 musicians, writers, actors and artists have protected Hasél, including Hollywood stars. Pedro Almodóvar And Javier Bardem. Spain is “on par with countries like Turkey or Morocco, where artists are also in prison for denouncing state abuses.”

Since the Citizen Protection Law was passed in 2015 by the then conservative government Mariano Rajoy – Slang: “Gag Law” – Artists, Youtube, and journalists end up in the dock over and over again. Sometimes there are prison sentences, sometimes heavy fines, and sometimes acquittals. However, the anger was not as widespread as it is now.