BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Protests in support of an incarcerated rapper turned violent for the sixth night in a row in Barcelona on Sunday, with clashes between police and mostly angry youths in downtown Spain.
As in previous days, Sunday began with a peaceful protest in Barcelona, where graffiti artists painted a critical mural of King Philip VI of Spain and his father, former King Juan Carlos I, to show what they called solidarity. with rapper Pablo Hasél.
But as night fell, tensions rose as protesters, mostly dressed in dark clothes, marched through the city center to the National Police headquarters.
After half an hour of being hit by stones, bottles, garbage and firecrackers, the Catalan police moved supported by vans to clear the street from the station. The shops in the center of Barcelona were again targeted by vandals who broke the windows.
More than 100 people, including seven on Sunday, have been arrested following violent clashes with police since Hasél was arrested. on Tuesday, to serve a nine-month prison sentence for his tweets and lyrics, which insulted the Spanish monarch and praised the violence of terrorism.
Catalan police said more than 35 arrests had been made in Barcelona and other nearby cities on Saturday after riots broke shop windows and fighting police. Other protests across Spain, including the capital Madrid, have remained largely peaceful.