The Mossos d'Esquadra and institutions are preparing for a possible resurgence of disturbances on Saturday, October 31. The Bar Association is reinforcing legal assistance shifts.
The Minister of Interior, Núria Parlón, warned in a commission of the Parliament that a new violent episode is expected in Barcelona next Saturday, October 31. She explained that the Department will mobilise all resources at its disposal to prevent a repeat of the scenes from the previous week.
Those disturbances left 133 detainees, of whom 85 were minors, in addition to looted shops and destroyed urban furniture. The commission included the presence of the Director General of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Ferran López, and the Chief Commissioner, Sílvia Catà.
The Barcelona City Council, presided over by Jaume Collboni, convened an extraordinary Local Security Board. It included the Minister of Interior, the Government Delegate, José Crespín, the President of the Court of Instance, Cristina Ferrando, and representatives from the security forces.
After the meeting, the council issued a statement in which the institutions reaffirm their commitment to coexistence and public order. The public authorities promise a "robust" response to an "unprecedented" phenomenon and maintain a zero tolerance policy towards any violent behaviour in public spaces.
"The various public authorities have reiterated that they will be relentless with anyone who causes damage or disrupts coexistence."
In the judicial sphere, the Illustrious Bar Association of Barcelona (ICAB) agreed on Thursday to reinforce legal assistance with 15 additional professionals, in coordination with the Generalitat and the Mossos. The General Criminal Duty roster increases from 13 to 20 lawyers, and the Minor's roster increases from 2 to 10, due to the special attention these cases require.
The Bar explains that the aim is to expedite assignments and ensure "effective and personalised" assistance to detainees. The reinforcement comes after a new call on social media encouraging a repeat of the disturbances.
For his part, the president of the PP of Barcelona, Daniel Sirera, urged the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and Mayor Collboni to exceptionally reinforce security. He also called for allowing shops that are forced to close on Saturday for security reasons to open exceptionally on Sunday to compensate for their losses.
"Barcelona cannot experience the scenes of last weekend again, with shops attacked, windows smashed, looting, burning containers, and injured police officers."
Catà acknowledged that the force is concerned about the call spread on social media for this Saturday. The investigation remains open to determine who is behind the mobilisations of young people, which are mainly organised through mass messaging applications. So far, the Mossos have shut down two Telegram channels that incited new disturbances on the 31st.
"We are not facing a widespread threat to public safety nor an extensive phenomenon among the youth."
Regarding the actions of last Saturday, López denied that the Mossos were caught by surprise. He explained that there were already more than 30 units of public order around Plaza de Cataluña and a prior operation existed at CECOR on Calle Lleida.
"We did not anticipate the level of violence we encountered on Saturday, which was apparently disorganised."
López added that the young people had no other purpose than to destroy and loot. For the residents and shopkeepers in the city centre, the operation will remain in place over the weekend, and it is advisable to stay alert to traffic changes and shop closures that may be announced in the coming hours.
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