28 March 2012
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
Spain: 59
held after demonstration against detention centres
On
Saturday 24 June 2006, over fifty activists from different European
countries involved in a protest in the Zona Franca in Barcelona,
the Second Caravan for Freedom of Movement, were arrested as
they occupied the site of a future detention centre for foreigners
to criticise the use of these facilities.
The planned detention centre, which will replace the one in La
Verneda, will be the largest of its kind in Spain. The national
police intervened during the action and, after negotiating the
exit of the demonstrators, they acted aggressively towards journalists
(breaking a camera) and activists, threatening them with dogs,
according to a statement from the Caravan. Officers from the
Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force, also appeared
on the scene, but did not carry out any arrests. The police allegedly
treated the demonstrators violently (four Italians who were detained
wrote of "kicks and shoves") and held them for questioning
in La Verneda police station for around 48 hours, until their
release on the following Monday.
The people who were detained included journalists who were covering
the event, one from Europa Press and another from TVE, the Spanish
public broadcasting company, who were released on the Saturday,
and two lawyers were also arrested. The Caravan also included
a demonstration involving migrants and migrant support groups,
calling for the unconditional regularisation of migrants in the
EU, the closing of detention centres, putting a stop to the externalising
of European immigration policy and opposing current policies
of strictly linking residence permits to employment contracts.
Lawyers representing some of the detainees filed habeas corpus claims, deeming that the arrests were illegal, and the Caravan criticised the police repression of a peaceful and legal initiative to defend the rights of migrants and oppose detention centres. Police sources reported that the protestors cut the cables of the CCTV circuit in the detention centre and, with a view to criminalising them, described them as collectively having "a similar 'squatters' attire of an anarchist and radical cut", and as "possibly belonging to anti-establishment groups, which have supported some persons detained in previous police operations for placing explosive devices in Barcelona".
The Coordinadora para la Prevención de la Tortura, a coalition of civil society groups working for the prevention of torture, issued a statement highlighting:
1) the legitimacy of the protest;
2) the illegality of the detentions (as the detainees had already
been identified by the police);
3) the treatment that they experienced, including insults, blows,
deprivation of food and water in spite of the high temperature;
4) the unnecessary extension of the time during which they were
held until Monday, when they had finished giving their statements
on Sunday;
and
5) the attempt by the police to criminalise the detainees by
describing them collectively as supporting terrorists, a notion
that was backed by the mayor of Barcelona and other public officials,
rather than focussing on complaints about the police intervention.
Sources: Statement by the press section of the Second Caravan
for Freedom of Movement, 26.6.2006; Europa Press 24-26.6.2006;
'Ninguna
persona es ilegal!', letter by four activists from Venice
who were arrested, 30.6.2006; Statement
by the Coordinadora para la Prevención de la Tortura,
28.6.2006.
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.