Tuesday night marked a week since the imprisonment of the rapper Pablo Hasél for his social media comments and song lyrics. The nightly protests on Catalan cities have not stopped since then, and demonstrations were held tonight in Barcelona, Calafell, Reus, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Vilanova i la Geltrú, as well as in the city of Oviedo, in Asturias. In the case of Barcelona, at a protest by several hundred people - much smaller than those last weekend - there were some moments of tension at points in the Esquerra de l'Eixample neighbourhood, and a journalist was injured by the impact of an object thrown by one of the attendees to the protest.
Specifically, the injury to the journalist took place around nine in the evening in Carrer Paris near Carrer Villarroel, where protesters began throwing objects at the Mossos d'Esquadra police line. It was at this point that an object injured reporter Sergi Rodergas in the face.
In fact, the demonstration, called at 7pm in Plaça Letamendi with the slogan "Stop the repression", began with a speech from a journalist asking protesters not to attack the press covering the protests. Another speaker, a protester attending the rally, asserted that the protests were separate from the acts of vandalism that have occured every night.
Several hundred people gathered at Plaça Letamendi and began to move around the left part of the Eixample district, and there were attempts to build barricades, as well as objects thrown at police.
La mani topa amb Brimo i trànsit a París amb Casanova. #LlibertatPabloHasel pic.twitter.com/wI7XUKvmod
— Marc González (@marcgonzalez_23) February 23, 2021
From the balconies, some neighbors criticised police officers for their actions, while others shouted at the protesters.
Around 9:30pm, the remains of the demonstration broke up, near Plaça Catalunya. Subsequently, officers stopped and took ID from several people on Passeig de Gràcia. Today's protests ended with four arrests, organizers told ElNacional.cat.
Incidents in Vilanova i la Geltrú
There were some incidents at a protest in the town of Vilanova i la Geltrú, on the coast south-west from Barcelona. A violent group smashed windows, sprayed grafitti on bank offices and shops in the town's Rambla Principal.
Later, they went to the local Civil Guard barracks, which was defended by a Mossos d'Esquadra squad, and threw paint, stones and building site fencing at the police line.
21:40h A Vilanova i la Geltrú un grup violent ha produït diversos incidents al llarg del seu recorregut.
— Mossos (@mossos) February 23, 2021
En aquests moments estan llençant pedres i tanques d'obra a la línia policial a prop de la comissaria pic.twitter.com/1gyRaj7H8g
Street assembly to support jailed protester
In the Barcelona district of Sants, around 700 people took part in an assembly called in support of Carles, a local man who has been ordered to serve pre-trial prison after participating in the incidents of recent days, allegedly taking part in the construction of three barricades. The judge considered that he could reoffend if he is released. "Carles's family has done a lot for this neighbourhood and do not deserve to go through this ordeal," said a spokesperson for the support group calling for Carles's release. Carles is well known in the neighbourhood as he runs a bar.
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The gathering at Sants calling for the release of Carles / Pau De la Calle
On the other hand, at Plaça Artós in Sarrià, far-right groups called a demonstration under the motto "You don't burn Spain", at which the Mossos police stopped and identified fifteen people. Fascist symbolism was on show at the demonstration, and members of Vox were present. But, with a very small turnout, the rally was soon called off.
Many minors arrested
One week of protests over Pablo Hasél's imprisonment has left a total of 113 people arrested, and 33 of these are minors whose case have been passed to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office. The other 80 have appeared in court, and two people have been remanded in custody.
According to the Medical Emergency System (SEM), 77 people participating in the demonstrations have had medical treatment and 91 police officers have been attacked. During the riots and vandalism, a total of 292 trash containers have been burned and 626 more have been removed from the streets as a precaution.
The protests and rioting coincide with the negotiations among Catalan political parties to form a new government after the elections on 14th February. The pro-independence ERC and the CUP, as well as the left-wing Comuns, have focused on possible changes in the public order model following the incident in which a 19-year-old protester lost an eye, allegedly to a foam projectile fired by the Mossos, during the first day of mobilizations.