Spain arrests 80 in three nights of riots over rapper’s jailing

A demonstrator throws a stone during clashes with police in Barcelona (AP)

Protests over the imprisonment of a rapper convicted of insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorist violence were marred by rioting for a third successive night on Thursday.

The plight of Pablo Hasel, who began this week to serve a nine-month sentence in a north-eastern prison, has triggered a heated debate over the limits of free speech in Spain and a political storm over the use of violence by both the rapper’s supporters and the police.