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| - Six Italians and a French national have been remanded in custody over a violent weekend protest over last month's jailing of a Spanish rapper, a court said Wednesday. A Spanish woman was also remanded in custody with none of the eight having the option of bail, a court statement said. They were arrested following a violent protest in central Barcelona on Saturday night and are being held on suspicion of attempted murder, attacking the police, public disorder, causing damage and belonging to a criminal group. Saturday's demonstration was one of the most violent protests since rapper Pablo Hasel began serving a nine-month prison sentence on February 16 for a string of tweets found to be glorifying terrorism. He was also heavily fined for likening former king Juan Carlos I to a mafia boss and accusing police of killing demonstrators and migrants, with his jailing sparking a wave of protest in his native Catalonia and beyond. During Saturday's clashes, protesters torched a police van with an officer inside although he managed to get out. They also attacked a hotel, smashed up street furniture and several banks, and looted shops. Police arrested 14 people following the violence. Since the start of the protests, 136 people have been arrested in the northeastern Catalonia region, police say. Hasel's supporters say his conviction illustrates the limits to free speech in Spain, but it has also unleashed pent-up anger over record youth unemployment of 40.2 percent, the soaring cost of living and a year of pandemic-linked restrictions. bur-du/hmw/mjs
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