128 people have been arrested in Barcelona after acts of vandalism, damage to public property and looting during an unauthorized demonstration in the city center. Among those arrested are 73 minors, Catalan police said, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
Groups of young people, many dressed entirely in black, gathered in a large square in the center of Barcelona. Some of them then ran through the streets and attacked businesses. Videos of the riots show damage to shops and public property. The police said the demonstration had not been previously reported to the authorities.
“We are currently preparing the official reports that will be sent to the prosecutor's office for minors and to the relevant court for adults“, said Silvia Catta, a senior official in the Catalan police.
According to her, only two of those arrested had previous criminal records. 15 police officers were injured in the clashes. Catta described the incident as “violence without any reason“ and said authorities were analyzing the profiles of those detained.
According to Catta, the participants were “totally disorganized“ but coordinated their actions through social media. She did not name a specific organization behind the riots.
Police clear camps in Lisbon and Porto
The same night, Portuguese police carried out operations against tent camps of housing rights activists in Lisbon and Porto. In a statement, the police said that after the exhaustion of opportunities for dialogue, 31 people were arrested for disobedience and 171 structures were removed.
According to the police, 11 people were injured in the operations - eight civilians and three police officers. The organizers of the movement, quoted by the Portuguese press, reported 37 injuries, mostly in Lisbon. The discrepancy in the data is not explained.
The protests in Portugal are related to dissatisfaction with high housing costs. A similar tent camp has been in place for a month in a square in the center of Madrid.
Sources: bta.bg, thelocal.es, portugalresident.com