Hundreds of demonstrations protesting the arrest of Hasél are called throughout the country

Hundreds of demonstrations in protest against the arrest of Hasél are called throughout the country. The demonstrations took place in Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona and a number of other Catalan cities for a consecutive week following the arrest of the singer. There were moments of great tension between demonstrators and riot police. Spanish Police officers fired rubber balls to dissuade the demonstrators, despite the fact that this method was banned by the Catalan Parliament. The police arrested 35 people in Barcelona, 1 in Lleida and 2 in Tarragona. The week of protests culminated with 148 arrests throughout the country. Eleven people were taken into custody as a result of the protests, 7 of whom will be released over the following weeks and months. Eight of these people are being investigated for their alleged links to an incident in which several demonstrators were involved in setting a City Police car on fire with a police officer inside, who was able to escape unharmed. The other three protesters who were taken into custody and later released are the Scot William Aitken, Carles de Sants and Cristian Mestre, arrested in Granada.