@punsix Mob Attacks Mossos After Catching Salt's Imam Trying to Squat an Apartment
Second day of incidents following the eviction of this Sub-Saharan last Friday
It seems like the headline of a satirical magazine, but this is currently the reality being experienced in Catalonia. A police intervention to prevent the squatting of a house in Salt (Girona) has ended in a street battle. About 200 people attacked the police with stones and eggs, forcing them to deploy riot police to regain control.
The events date back to Friday, when the police carried out the eviction of the house where the imam of a mosque in Salt lived without incident. On Monday, he and two other sub-Saharan individuals tried to re-enter the apartment, which is owned by a bank. The police managed to evict them, but then the problems began.
The Salt Housing Union called for a demonstration attended by about 250 people. Tensions rose, and the crowd ended up throwing stones and eggs in front of the police station.
The police had to deploy riot police to clear the area and prevent further disturbances. For a while, there were tense scenes, with the feeling that the police had lost control of the situation.
New Clashes This Tuesday
Once calm was restored, the police began an investigation to identify the rioters. Simultaneously, mediation efforts were initiated with the mosque's imam to calm the situation and redirect it. But this Tuesday, disturbances have returned, this time led by hooded individuals against the police.
The trigger was once again a protest against the imam's eviction. This time, the incidents took place in the center of Salt, with objects being thrown and containers set on fire. At least one person has been arrested.
The Salt city council, governed by ERC, has sided with the imam. It has criticized the evictions of apartments owned by large landlords, banks, and vulture funds. It considers it unfair to have empty apartments that can't be used to house vulnerable people.
The incidents have caused all kinds of reactions, including from Vox. They claim that "an imam tried to occupy a house, the police stopped him to prevent it, and now his loyal followers are burning the streets."
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