Several hundred protesters have marched in Spain's northeastern city of Barcelona against the authorities' crackdown following a violent outcry over the imprisonment of Pablo Hasel, an anti-establishment artist.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Saturday's march took place amid a heavy police presence, winding through several avenues of the Catalan regional capital.
Protesters walked behind a banner that called for the release of Hasel and his jailed supporters.
The rapper is serving nine months for inciting terrorism - he has praised two now-defunct armed groups responsible for killing over 900 people in Spain - and for refusing to pay a fine for insulting Spain's former king.
His arrest on February 16 triggered a mix of peaceful and violent protests that have at times ended in the looting of shops in several cities.
The case has also invigorated a debate over the limits of freedom of speech in Spain.
Spain's ruling left-wing coalition has pledged to launch a legal reform to eliminate prison terms for offences involving freedom of speech.
The coalition's junior partner, the far-left United We Can party, has filed a petition to pardon Hasel.
Eight suspects have been jailed for being in a group that protested the rapper's imprisonment by setting fire to a police van in which an officer narrowly escaped the flames.
They face possible charges of attempted homicide, assaulting law enforcement officers and forming part of a criminal group.
Australian Associated Press
