Madrid: Riot police armed with batons clashed
with protesters trying to hold a demonstration against the
government's economic policies, and seven officers were
injured, officials said on Friday.
Television reports showed images of objects being thrown
and officers armed with batons hitting protesters near the
Interior Ministry in Madrid late yesterday, bloodying some of
them.
A national police spokeswoman declined to say today how
many protesters were hurt.
But she said four demonstrators were detained for alleged
public disorder, including Gorka Ramos, a reporter for online
newspaper lainformacion.com.
The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping
with police policy.
The news outlet said on its website that 13 protesters
were treated for injuries and that Ramos was being held in a
Madrid jail, unable to speak to his family or employer.
It published images of Ramos with blood stains on his nose
and right eye being led away by police in riot gear.
Ramos had been carrying appropriate identification and was
covering the protests live through his Twitter web feed
column, lainformacion.com said.
Citizens angry about the government's austerity program
during Spain's economic crisis have been demonstrating for
four days in Madrid, angry that police are preventing them
from re-erecting a protest camp in the central Sol plaza where
they had held protests since May.
PTI
First Published: Friday, August 05, 2011, 22:19