SPAIN: On Monday night, Spanish police charged into a gathering of protestors outside the ruling Socialist Party offices in Madrid, Spain, using batons in opposition to a planned amnesty bill about Catalonia’s independence movement. Some of the protestors were brandishing fire flares.
At least one person was arrested at the demonstration, which drew some 4,000 participants, including Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, according to local media reports. Tear gas was used by certain protesters, according to reports.
According to media reports, part of the mob assaulted temporary barriers guarding the Socialist Headquarters and threw bottles at the police, so they were forced to disperse with the help of rubber bullets and smoke canisters.
In exchange for the support of two Catalan separatist parties to a new term by socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, he has suggested an amnesty law. Sanchez is attempting to create a government after an election in July produced no clear winner. The most well-known gainer would be Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Catalonia’s abortive 2017 independence movement.
According to reports, the Socialists and Puigdemont’s Junts party are getting close to finishing their negotiations. Meanwhile, conservative parties and judges have harshly criticised Sanchez’s planned measure, claiming it compromises the rule of law.
Protesters held banners that said “Spaniards have the right and the duty to protect Spain” while others screamed “Sanchez to prison” and “Puigdemont to prison” while draped in Spanish flags.
Smaller demonstrations were also held in other Spanish cities, including Barcelona, and the protest were coordinated by a grassroots nationalist organisation in Spain.
“To attack the PSOE offices is to attack democracy and all those who believe in it,” Sanchez wrote on X.
Also Read: Mass Demonstrations in Spain Against Potential Amnesty for Catalan Separatists
