At least 128 people have been arrested in Barcelona, Spain, after a youth protest turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police.
Silvia Cata, Catalan police chief, said on Sunday that 73 of
those arrested were minors and their cases would be referred to the juvenile
prosecutor’s office.
Fifteen police officers were injured during the unrest,
which began late Saturday afternoon around Plaça de Catalunya in the city
centre.
According to Spanish media reports, the gathering drew about
600 people and was promoted on social media under the slogan “Instituts
Indignats”, seeking to bring the French youth movement “Lycéens Indignés” to
Barcelona.
Footage shared on social media showed groups of young people
setting objects on fire, attacking businesses and taking goods from shops.
Protesters reportedly threw stones and other heavy objects
at police, erected barricades, set rubbish bins on fire and smashed shop
windows.
Police officers moved in to disperse the demonstrators,
prompting clashes in nearby streets. According to La Vanguardia, about 14 shops
have been looted, while motorbikes, bicycles and bus shelters were also
damaged.
The unrest forced several businesses to close and led
authorities to restrict access to Plaça de Catalunya. Train services stopping
at the square’s station were also temporarily suspended.
Cata said only two of those arrested had previous criminal
records, describing the incidents as “gratuitous violence”.
She added that the rally was “completely disorganised”,
although calls to participate had spread on social media. Police were examining
the profiles of those detained, she said.
Jaume Collboni, Barcelona mayor, condemned the violence and
said the city council would join legal proceedings to seek accountability for
the damage.
“This will not be left as it is. We will go all the way,” he
said, warning that parents or legal guardians of minors involved could also
face consequences.
Salvador Illa, president of the government of Catalonia,
also condemned the unrest while defending the police response.
“Protesting is a democratic right,” Illa said, adding that
violence could not be justified as part of that right.
Núria Parlon, Catalonia’s interior minister, described the
incidents as “gratuitous violence and vandalism” and said those responsible
were not defending a legitimate cause.
Officials also distanced the unrest from a housing rights
encampment that has been in Plaça de Catalunya for several weeks.
The violence comes amid unrest in several European
countries, including France, Italy and Albania. In France, 1,000 people were
arrested on Saturday as protests over economic grievances returned to major
cities.
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