Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@centre_IRIDIA
This is the moment a police van bulldozes into Catalan protesters during a demonstration at Barcelona Airport sparking an internal probe into the officers’ conduct.
The Ministry of the Interior intend to investigate the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) officers involved in the incident during the protests outside the Barcelona-El Prat Airport in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia.
The footage of a police van appearing to push back several Catalan protesters has been viewed on Twitter 125,000 times.
In a statement, the authorities promised to “determine” what happened and whether the officers “acted in accordance with police protocols”.
The protests started on Monday after the Spanish authorities sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders, and on the first night of rioting, 34 Mossos d’Esquadra and six National Police officers were injured, according to local media.
After the second day of protests, 30 people were arrested and 74 were injured in the Catalan cities of Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Sabadell and Lleida.
In total, over 200 people have been reported as injured in the protests.
Meanwhile, 43 police officers have been injured over the two days of reported riots.
An unnamed 22-year-old lost an eye during Monday’s demonstrations and reports stated that the injuries are compatible with an impact from a rubber bullet.
The National Police confirmed they fired rubber bullets in moments of high tension.
The Catalan government has previously banned the use of rubber bullets in the region, but the ban only applies to the local Mossos d’Esquadra police force and not the National Police.
The Mossos d’Esquadra reportedly used precision foam projectiles which can be aimed at specific targets to spread the protesters.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Iridia reported that eight journalists covering the protests have been injured.
The Spanish authorities have said they are investigating who is coordinating the disruption.
Protesters have been using an app known as ‘Tsunami Democratic’ to attend protest sites in Catalan cities, according to reports.
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