Spain: Town Hit with Riots After Iman Evicted

 

For two consecutive nights this week, the municipality of Salt (Girona) was hit with disturbances after a local imam and his family were evicted from their residence for non-payment of rent. 

The below article from yesterday’s Telemadrid is translated by Fousesquawk. It has video of the disturbances.

6 arrests in Salt (Girona) in protests over eviction of an iman and his family.

Last night’s (protest) was the second consecutive protest in Salt where two minor injuries have been recorded. 

March 12, 2025-17:45 (Updated March 12, 2025-17:46)

Last night, Catalan police arrested 6 persons in Salt (Girona) after altercations occurred in this municipality during the course of a protest against the eviction of an iman and his family, in which an officer was slightly injured and a neighbor was hit by a rock.

The protest in front of the Salt City Hall, attended by about 100 people, led to incidents of throwing objects like rocks and cans against the police line and police vehicles, according to what police sources of told EFE (news agency). 

The root of these incidents was (was when) police arrested 6 persons accused of crimes of public disorder and attacks against a police officer.

In addition, an officer of the Catalan police was slightly injured after which, a protester threw a rock against the car in which he was seated which caused a smashed window that injured the officer. 

The (protest) last night was the second consecutive protest in Salt over the eviction of the iman and his family. The first protest occurred without notable incidents, and the police made no arrests.

The origin of the protest began last Friday when, according to police sources, the eviction of the iman and his family from the home they had occupied for the past 5 years was carried out.

The property (owner), a large landholder, installed an alarm and video surveillance cameras last Monday that alerted that this person, accompanied by two others, had broken the police seal and had again accessed the residence.

In this situation, the Catalan Police carried out another eviction that caused the first incidents in the form of protests.

The most serious altercations happened last night with the second crowd of some 100 persons and clashes with police.

Municipal sources said that they had intended to offer the evicted family an alternative residence, but  they did not meet the requirements to access the local housing pool.

Nevertheless, the situation of the family is complicated since there are many difficulties in accessing free market housing. 

The city council, local police, and Catalan police are in conversations with the imam’s community as well as other groups in Salt to mediate the conflict.

The daughter of the evicted imam, Henda Diawara, claimed that her father “has nothing to do ” with the disturbances. “We didn’t want them to do it, and if they did it, it is because they wanted to and did not involve my father. My father, in fact, tried to stop it. My father has nothing to do with this.”

The mayor of Salt (Girona), Jordi Viñas, has disassociated the acts of vandalism recorded in the municipality with the eviction of the iman, an action he denies was the result of the process of radicalization. These acts “cannot happen in Salt or any other place.”

 Viñas has reviewed the disturbances, in which street furniture. windows of police cars, three parking meters, surveillance cameras, and a dozen trash dumpsters were destroyed, for which 6 persons were arrested Tuesday by police.

For its part the Union of the Autonomous Police of Catalunia (USPAC) issued a statement Wednesday in which it has called tonight’s protests as a “prelude” to rising tensions in Salt. “The audacity of planting yourselves in front of a police station to heckle police. throwing rocks and eggs, causing large disturbances, damage to street furniture and burning dumpsters leaves us with images more suitable to a third world country than a democratic society,” the text adds. 

The union reiterates that “what happened last night is only the tip of the iceberg,” and criticizes both politicians and police commanders while thanking the work of the officers who work on the streets.

Source: http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2025/03/spain-town-hit-with-riots-after-iman.html