Dozens arrested in rapper prison for tweets spark angry protests over free speech in Spain

Madrid – Spanish police arrested nearly 50 people on Wednesday night, amid a second series of clashes over the closure of a rapper for a series of tweets insulting police and the monarchy. Furious protests erupted in Catalonia on Tuesday night after police detained 32-year-old Pablo Hasel, who was locked up at a university in the region to try to avoid jail time in a controversial case of parole. expression.

Protests erupted on Wednesday, hundreds gathered under heavy police presence in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square and demanded his release. Protesters in the capital later threw bottles at police officers, who accused them of clashes for several hours.

Police said at least 15 people had been arrested but were due to make an update on Thursday morning, while the city’s emergency services said 55 people were injured, including 35 police officers.

In Barcelona, ​​protesters threw objects at police and set fire to barricades, with police firing rounds of foam and charging protesters.

Across Catalonia, the Mossos d’Esquadra’s regional police said 31 people had been arrested, including 10 in Barcelona, ​​14 in Lerida, where Hasel had been arrested, five in the north of Girona and 2 in Tarragona.

Doctors said eight people were slightly injured, and local officials and a human rights organization confirmed that a 19-year-old woman, a protester, lost an eye after being hit by a foam round fired by police on Tuesday. the Barcelona.

At least 15 people were arrested on Tuesday night in protest in several Catalan cities in which more than 30 people were injured, including 19 police officers, officials said.

Hasel missed a Friday deadline to surrender and begin serving a nine-month prison sentence in 2018. He was convicted of glorifying terrorism and insulted and slandered the monarchy and state security forces after posting a series of tweets calling former King Juan Carlos I am a mafia boss and accuse police of torturing and killing protesters and migrants.

Hasel is known for his left-wing views, but his case has become a popular cause among activists, who say his pursuit is a dangerous attack on free speech.

His sentence sparked outrage in Spain, with celebrities including director Pedro Almodovar and Hollywood actor Javier Bardem expressing support for his cause.

Amnesty International denounced the move, saying the rapper’s imprisonment for lyrics and tweets of the songs was “unfair and disproportionate”.