Dozens arrested as rapper imprisoned for tweets provokes angry protests over freedom of expression in Spain

Madrid – Spanish police arrested nearly 50 people Wednesday night amid a second night of clashes in a rapper’s prison over a string of tweets insulting police and the monarchy. Angry protests erupted for the first time on Tuesday night in Catalonia after police arrested Pablo Hasel, 32, who had entered a university in the region to try to avoid his prison sentence in a controversial case of freedom of expression.

Protests escalated on Wednesday with hundreds of people concentrated under a strong police presence in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square and demanding their release. Protesters in the capital later threw bottles at police, who charged them into clashes for several hours.

Police said at least 15 people were arrested but were due to post an update Thursday morning, while city 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 foam wheels and charging at protesters.

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

Doctors reported 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 round of foam fired by police Tuesday in Barcelona.

At least 15 people had been arrested on Tuesday night in protests in several Catalan cities in which more than 30 people were injured, including 19 police officers, according to officials.

Hasel missed Friday’s deadline to surrender and begin serving a nine-month prison sentence handed down in 2018. He was convicted of glorifying terrorism and insulting and slandering the monarchy and state security forces after post a series of tweets calling former King Juan Carlos I am a mob 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 famous cause among defenders, who say prosecuting him is a dangerous assault on free speech.

His sentence caused outrage in Spain, with stars including filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and Hollywood actor Javier Bardem expressing support for his cause.

Amnesty International denounced the move and said imprisoning the rapper for song lyrics and tweets was “unfair and disproportionate”.