BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Protests in support of a jailed rapper turned violent in Barcelona for the sixth consecutive night on Sunday with clashes between police and groups of mostly angry youth in the center of the Spanish city.
As in previous days, Sunday started with a peaceful protest in Barcelona, where graffiti artists painted a mural criticizing Spain’s King Felipe VI and his father, former King Juan Carlos I, to show what they called solidarity with rapper Pablo Hasél.
But as night fell, tension heightened as protesters, usually dressed in dark clothing, marched through the city center to National Police headquarters.
After being pelted by rocks, bottles, garbage and fireworks for half an hour, the Catalan police came in, supported by vans, to clear the street from the station. Shops in Barcelona city center were once again the target of vandals breaking windows.
More than 100 people, including seven on Sunday, have been arrested after violent clashes with police since Hasél was arrested Tuesday to serve a nine-month prison sentence for his tweets and texts that insulted the Spanish monarch and praised terrorist violence.
Catalan police said more than 35 arrests had been made in Barcelona and other nearby towns on Saturday after rioters broke into shop windows and fought battles with police. Other protests across Spain, including the capital Madrid, remained largely peaceful.