Nine people have been arrested since Friday in Torre-Pacheco, a city in southeast Spain affected by riots against immigrants, the central government delegate announced in the Murcia region, Mariola Guevara on Monday, July 14. “Currently, nine people have been arrested”said Mme Guevara, interviewed by journalists about the results that have shaken the city in recent days.
Among the people arrested, two were in the context of the investigation opened after the assault of a retiree from the city on July 9, added Mme Guevara, specifying that these two people were “Immigrants” Not living in Torre Pacheco. The other seven, a Moroccan citizen and six Spaniards, were arrested for their participation in the clashes that followed. They are prosecuted for crimes of “public order disorders”, “hatred” and “voluntary injuries”, she detailed.
According to the government’s delegate, nearly 80 people who took part in these altercations have also been identified. “Many of them have history for acts of violence” et “The majority are not of Torre Pacheco”she insisted.
The Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, had expressed earlier in the day of the arrest of eight people.
These violence was triggered by the assault in the street, on Wednesday, of a 68 -year -old resident, named Domingo. The latter told Spanish media, with a swollen face, having been attacked by three young people of North African origin, without apparent reason.
This assault, filmed and put online on social networks, pushed extreme right groups to come together in the streets of the city to target people of North African origin, causing violent clashes, despite the deployment of important security forces.
Reinforced police force
“Yesterday we had already deployed 90 civil guard agents”Spanish equivalent of the gendarmerie, and “Their workforce will be reinforced tomorrow and in the following days”said Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Monday.
The memorable world
Test your general culture with the writing of the “world”
Test your general culture with the writing of the “world”
Discover
Asked about the TVE public television, the mayor of Torre-Pacheco, Pedro Angel Roca, said that the situation had been “Mastered” Sunday evening thanks to the police presence.
According to the mayor, 30 % of the 40,000 inhabitants of the city are immigrants, mainly of Moroccan origin, and who work in the vast majority on farms. “These are people who have lived in the city for more than twenty years” et “Have children”assured Mr. Roca. But “There is also delinquency, of course”added this elected representative of the Popular Party (right), by calling for a reinforced police presence throughout the year and the ban for far -right groups to regroup in the city.
“Threats, assaults and fear in the streets must stop”denounced the Moroccan association for the integration of immigrants, demanding in a press release “Real protection for those concerned”.
According to the authorities, several ultra -right movements outside the city participated in the clashes. Among them are the group “Deport Them Now” (“Expel them now”), who called on Telegram to a ” hunting “ to people of North African origin.
According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), 920,000 Moroccans lived in Spain at 1is January 2024. It is the main diaspora in this country, ahead of Romanians (620,000 people).
