80 are arrested in more riots over rapper’s jailing

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

The plight of Pablo Hasel, who began this week to serve a 9-month sentence in a northeastern 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.

Nearly 80 people have been arrested and more than 100 injured since Hasel was taken away from a university where he had sought refuge after refusing to show up at prison voluntarily.