Twenty-seven people have been arrested by police during a new operation against anarchists in Spain. Starting at 6 a.m. on March 30 2015, police actions in Madrid, Barcelona, Palencia and Granada led to the arrest of 13 people whom police allege belonged to a “criminal organization with terrorist aims”. In the course of raids on six social centres and 11 homes, 14 more people were arrested on charges of resisting the authorities.

In Madrid, raids were carried out on the self-managed social centre-squat “La Chimera”, which is located on Nelson Mandela square in the Lavapiés quarter, and in the social centre 13-14 in the Vallecas district. Three van-loads of police cordoned off the square where “La Chimera” is located. The police invaded the building, seized all computer equipment, and blocked access to the building. Also in Madrid, a home was raided and all the people there were arrested. The self-governing social centre-quat “La Redonda” reported that its building was also raided by police, who didn’t even bother to show a warrant.

The police insist that those arrested are members of the “Coordinated Anarchist Group”. The operation was dubbed “Piñata”. In December last year an operation named “Pandora” was conducted supposedly against the same group.

Most of the operations took place in Madrid, where there were nine arrests. In Barcelona there were two arrests. A girl and a boy were arrested while walking down the street just after leaving their homes in the Poble-Sec and Sant-Andreu-de-Palomar barrios respectively. Raids were also conducted in La Vernada barrio and on Fontrodona Street in Poble-Sec. At the latter location there was still a police cordon in the afternoon which attracted about 40 protestors. The first demonstrations for the release of those arrested took place in the evening of March 30 in Barcelona and Girona. (https://insurrecto36.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/estado-espanol-27-detenidos-en-una-nueva-operacion-contra-el-colectivo-anarquista/)

The Confederal Committee of the CNT-AIT, the Spanish section of the International Workers’ Association, issued a sharp condemnation of this new round in the ongoing wave of repression. Another statement of protest was issued by the Madrid local federation of the CNT, which pointed out that this act of repression and persecution was aimed exclusively at the criminalization and repression of the anarchist movement (http://madrid.cnt.es/).

More demonstrations of protest demanding the immediate release of those arrested are taking place in various cities of Spain, for example, the demonstration in Salamanca in which members of the CNT took part: (http://salamanca.cnt.es/2015/03/31/unas-40-personas-exigen-en-salamanca-la-libertad-de-las-anarquistas-detenidas/)

The photo at the top shows part of the police raid on the "La Chimera" squat in Madrid on March 30 a.m. The photo at the bottom shows the demonstration in Salamanca on March 31 2015.

Thanks to aitrus.info for collating this material.