Police arrest at least 15 in raids against anarchists (Spain)

At least 15 people were arrested during raids in Spain on December 17th for being part of an “anarchist terror organization” in what the Spanish government is calling ‪#‎OperacionPandora‬.

At quarter past five, an operation consisting of Mossos d’Esquadra mobilized to carry out an operation against the Libertario movement. So far, the Mossos have raided the Kasa de la Montanya, the Libertarian Ateneo de Sant Andreu, the Anarchist Ateneo de Poble Sec and several private homes.

On orders from the Spanish National Court, in an operation ordered by Judge Javier Gómez Bermúdez, the agents have raided the Kasa de la Muntanya, a squat which this year celebrates twenty five years of occupation. They busted the main entrance of the house to gain access while a police helicopter with spotlights hovered over the building. The twenty inhabitants of the house had to retreat into the gym whilst the police forced entry into the building. At the time of the police raid, the building had two children aged five and six years. The Mossos separated one of the kids from his father on the ground floor.

The police confiscated all mobile phones, laptops and computer devices that were found on the premises. Agents seized all types of documentation, while numerous electric home workshop tools were also confiscated in order to help the police construct their narrative.

About fifty people installed a roadblock on Travessera de Dalt, in a spontaneous act of solidarity with the Kasa de la Muntanya, until riot police dispersed them a few minutes after eight o’clock. Subsequently the solidarity group moved to the Plaza Lesseps and called for more protests.

From the outside of the house located in the neighborhood of Gràcia district Salut, witnesses heard several firecrackers and said they could see in lights of several flashlights inside the building. The police operation is made ​​up of agents from the Information Division of the Mossos d’Esquadra, accompanied by a large number of members of the Mobile Brigade which, among other tasks, formed a perimeter around the whole area and denied any access to the home.