Spanish police arrest rapper convicted in free speech case

Officers in riot gear storm Lleida University, in northeastern Spain, where Pablo Hasel had barricaded himself in.

Spanish police have stormed a Catalan university to arrest a rapper who barricaded himself inside after he was sentenced to jail on charges of glorifying “terrorism” and slandering the crown and state institutions. Pablo Hasel and dozens of his supporters took refuge in Lleida University, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Barcelona, on Monday. He had been given until Friday night to turn himself in to begin serving his nine-month sentence. Dozens of officers in full riot gear entered the university on Tuesday and removed the barricades.