Six far-left Spanish anarchists have been released on bail conditions after being arrested for allegedly setting a police vehicle with an officer inside on fire during a riot.
The incident took place during rioting in Barcelona in February of this year sparked by the arrest of rapper Pablo Hásel, who was detained for social media posts allegedly praising convicted terrorists and accusing police of torture.
The six far-left extremists, who are alleged to be members of an anarchist group, are accused of setting fire to a vehicle of the Guardia Urbana, Barcelona’s municipal police force. The suspects were given bails set at between €40,000 and €45,000, newspaper El Mundo reports.
The Prosecutor’s Office and police unions called for the anarchists to be remanded into custody in case they pose a flight risk, but the judge ruled that anarchists could be released on certain bail conditions.
The release was also influenced by a report by Barcelona firefighters who determined that the risk of personal injury to the officer inside the vehicle was low, as the officer was able to exit the burning vehicle.
The six anarchists have been charged with a number of crimes including attempted murder, membership of a criminal group, public disorder, attacking a public official, and illegally demonstrating. Two other members of the group were released in April.
The attack is not the only alleged bout of far-left violence in Spain this year. In April, during a speech in Madrid ahead of the Madrid elections, populist VOX party leader Santiago Abascal was attacked by members of a mob of far-left extremists who threw stones at him as he spoke.
VOX MP Iván Espinosa spoke to Breitbart London last year claiming that far-left violence, particularly directed toward his fellow party members, was often underreported by Spain’s mainstream media.