'Surround Parliament' anti-Monarchy protest leaves six injured and three arrested
'Surround Parliament' anti-Monarchy protest leaves six injured and three arrested
SIX people have been injured and three arrested during a massive protest in the centre of Madrid calling for an end to the Monarchy.
The latest in the series of 'Surround Parliament' (Rodea el Congreso) demonstrations which gathered around the central government's main meeting point started out last night (Saturday) at 19.00hrs in the Puerta del Sol square.
Two women, one of whom is a lawyer, and a man, all three of them on the organisation team, were taken into custody for 'attempting to pass police barriers', meaning they could be charged with an 'attack on authority figures'.
One of the arrested parties had already filed criminal action against MP for Madrid Cristina Cifuentes for banning a demonstration on the day of King Felipe VI's coronation.
After the initial march, where the three arrested parties say they were 'brutally attacked and beaten' by police, the two women and the man involved went up to the officers to say the rest of the demonstration would be called off – but were insulted and threatened with being thrown in a police cell, they claimed.
They were pinned down and handcuffed as they left the Puerta del Sol with the rest of the crowd in the direction of the C/ Alcalá and the Parliament building.
Ambulance staff on duty attended to six people who suffered injuries.
Four of them, three of whom were police officers, were treated on site and then released, whilst two others were taken to hospital for stitches.
Protesters carried banners reading 'Monarchy is not democracy, it's dictatorship and corruption'.
They say police targeted small groups of them at the edges of the crowd 10 minutes into the march, being physically rough with them, and stopping them getting down main streets which had been blocked off.
Those arrested were taken into custody some time after the demonstration had dissolved.
Organisers stressed that those who were 'pushed around' by police had not been causing any trouble and were merely walking along with the crowds.
They had not notified or sought permission from the provincial council of Madrid to hold the protest, since they considered they would not be allowed to go ahead if they did.
This action could result in fines ranging from 60,000 to 300,000 euros if the central government's planned Public Safety Law comes into force.
Photograph from the Twitter account of the organisers, Coordinadora 25-S
