Rioters Erect Barricades, Throw Bottles at Police During 8th Night of Protests in Barcelona

By Staff, Agencies

Supporters of jailed singer Pablo Hasel, who was charged with insulting the Spanish king and glorifying terrorism, clashed with police in Barcelona, Spain, as the protests demanding Hasel’s release have raged for over a week.

Rioters used wheeled garbage bins to erect makeshift barricades and threw glass bottles at riot police on Tuesday.

According to local media, citing police, a photojournalist was injured by a hurled bottle.

Protesters marched for the eighth consecutive day to demand that hip-hop artist and activist Pablo Hasel be released from jail.

Hasel was arrested and sent to prison on February 16. In 2018, he was imprisoned for two years after being found guilty of praising terrorist groups on social media and insulting the Spanish monarchy. His term was later reduced to nine months.

Hasel’s supporters see his case as an attack on freedom of speech. More than 200 artists, including filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and actor Javier Bardem, signed a petition in protest against sending Hasel to jail.

Following the backlash, the Spanish government promised to amend the legislation and vowed not to punish free speech-related crimes with prison terms.