Madrid, July 15 (EFE). – The Spanish government fears that violence against immigrants could spread across the country following riots in Torre Pacheco, Murcia.
«Hate, when fueled by lies, becomes more flammable and can spread too quickly,» said government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría on Tuesday, referring to the disturbances in Murcia, which began after a 19-year-old Moroccan allegedly assaulted a 68-year-old Spanish man.
The suspect is in preventive detention after attempting to flee to France.
Two other suspects accused of collaborating in the beating were released on provisional bail after authorities removed their passports and took other precautionary measures.
The attack sparked outrage among residents, who organized protests in the streets.
Far-right groups quickly joined the demonstrations after calling on social media for people to travel from other parts of Spain.
far-right groups involved
The Police arrested 11 people for allegedly being involved in the riots, and they also seized instruments that could be used as weapons from more than 120 people, most of whom traveled to the protests in organized groups from outside the area.
Among those arrested is a 28-year-old Spaniard who is the alleged leader of the xenophobic supremacist movement Deport Them Now EU.
Last week, this group incited a «hunt» for the Maghreb community in Torre Pacheco, a town of 40,000 with a significant immigrant population.
According to sources at the Ministry of the Interior, he is under investigation for alleged involvement in a hate crime, and authorities shut down the Telegram channel used by the organization to spread the message.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office will investigate whether there is evidence of a crime in demonstrations against illegal immigration led by José Ángel Antelo, the president of the far-right Vox party in Murcia, as well as in other social media posts, after receiving complaints from left-wing parties.
54,000 hate messages
On Tuesday, the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants held an extraordinary meeting where Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration Elma Saiz announced her intention to convene a meeting with social media companies to reinforce the quick removal of xenophobic and discriminatory content.
Saiz expressed «the government’s strongest condemnation of any form of violence,» citing concern over the events in Torre Pacheco and recent data from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia’s bulletin.
The Observatory detected over 54,000 hate messages on social media in Spain in June; however, of the content reported by users, platforms only removed 8%, of which only 2% was taken down in less than 48 hours.
YouTube and X have particularly low removal rates (5% and 9%, respectively), while Instagram removed 23%, according to ministerial data.
According to Saiz, these percentages reflect «an alarming lack of agility and commitment on the part of some digital operators.»
«We are not facing a debate about security. Rather, it is about hatred of those who are different,» the minister said.
«A group of people who, under the guise of intolerance, are destroying the coexistence that we have worked so hard to build,» she added.
The Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, said: «Democracy is at stake. The international hate movement has been creating these scapegoats and this 21st-century Ku Klux Klan culture. We are not going to tolerate it.»
The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces released an official statement condemning «any form of racism, violence, or hate speech» and rejecting any attempt to divide or attack the dignity of people because of their origin, identity, or beliefs.
Human rights organizations, immigrant groups, and unions are calling for a rally in Madrid on Thursday against «racism, xenophobia, and hatred,» as well as the violence and persecution of migrant neighbors in Torre Pacheco. EFE
nac-jl/mcd
