Activists rally in Extremadura to demand Spain immediately increase intake of Syrian refugees
• Only 12 of 16,231 Syrian refugees have so far arrived to Spain • Groups say stranded refugees face harsh winters in…
Human Rights
Civil Guard break up sex-slavery ring in Alicante’s Marina Alta, free women forced into prostitution
• Six Bulgarians and one Spaniard arrested in raids by Civil Guard • Women victims forced into prostitution along Marina Alta highways…
Carmena administration reduces Madrid’s controversial anti-riot police unit by 50 percent
• Police unit used to dislodge 15-M protesters cut to 80 officers • Police reassigned to other duties in line with city…
Rights activists, attorneys, journalists call on European court to overturn Spain’s anti-protest law
• Lawsuit filed over law’s restrictions on free speech and assembly • Fines under Spain’s so-called ‘gag law’ range from 600 to…
Spanish NGOs seek to raise awareness on fair trade, rights & environment with holiday selfies campaign
• CECJ promotes fair-trade holiday gifts with #MejorconComercioJusto contest • Campaign to highlight value of fair trade, rights & environmental protection A…
Amnesty International says Spain has backtracked on freedoms of expression and assembly for citizens
• AI Spain director says political parties should do more to protect rights • Esteban Beltran says police power expanded, protection of…
Spain’s Ombudswoman warns of human trafficking rings targeting refugee women fleeing to Europe
• ‘Defensora del Pueblo’ said refugee women risk victimization twice over • Soledad Becerril called for ‘more generosity’ from Spain in granting…
Torture, police brutality and abuse on the rise in Spain, says rights-monitoring federation of NGOs
• CDPT federation cites 194 cases, affecting 960 individuals in 2014 • Abuse occurs during police actions against protesters, raids & detention…
Protesters call for end to impunity over killings, rights abuses under Franco dictatorship
• Marchers include children, grandchildren of Franco-era victims • Families still seek remains of executed relatives buried in unmarked graves More than…
40 years after Franco’s death, activist wants dictator’s body removed from ‘Valley of the Fallen’
• Activist attorney, former judge Baltasar Garzón wants Franco disinterred • Calls for end to silence over Franco-era disappearances, human rights abuses…
Spanish fair trade group asks political parties to focus on sustainable, just commerce in campaigns
• Group wants fairer business and trade practices at home and abroad • Foreign trade deals should incorporate environment, labor & human…
Spanish judge issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, others over Gaza Freedom Flotilla raid
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face arrest in Spain • Judge issues warrant over deaths and attack on 2010 aid…
Catalan police raid Nigerian human-trafficking ring in Barcelona
• Police capture 30 members of Nigerian sex-trafficking ring in Barcelona • Nigerian women seeking work in Spain forced into prostitution by…
EU index sees child poverty on rise in Spain, despite return to economic growth
• Annual AROPE index shows those ‘At Risk of Poverty and/or Exclusion’ • 2.6 million Spanish children at risk, second highest among…
Searchers in Granada said close to finding Civil War-era grave of poet Federico García Lorca
• PSOE-led regional government gave ‘green light’ to renewed effort • Third time since 2009 that teams search for Spanish poet’s unmarked…
#VIDEO: LGBT activists’ march in Madrid to demand end to transgender discrimination in Spain
• March organizers demand transgender orientation not be treated as illness • Protest will call on lawmakers to legislate equality for transgender…