Spanish Police Arrest Man in Rubí Over Anti-Muslim Hate Speech and Burning of Hijab

Spanish Police Arrest Man in Rubí Over Anti-Muslim Hate Speech and Burning of Hijab
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Spanish authorities have arrested a 30-year-old man in the city of Rubí, near Barcelona, on suspicion of promoting racist and Islamophobic messages online, including burning a hijab, police said.

According to local sources, the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, detained the man after an investigation by the Central Unit for Hate and Discrimination Crimes uncovered numerous social media posts in which he linked Muslims and migrants to crime and encouraged others to organise for their expulsion.

In some videos attributed to the suspect, he wore a balaclava and burned a hijab—a head covering worn by many Muslim women—as part of his online rhetoric. The police said the content showed a “radical and aggressive” escalation of hate speech and incitement to discrimination and violence.

The arrest reflects ongoing efforts by Spanish authorities to address hate crimes and discrimination, including incidents targeting religious and migrant communities. Catalan police have increasingly investigated online and offline expressions of bigotry under national and regional hate-crime laws, which criminalise incitement to violence or hatred based on religion or ethnicity.

No further details about charges or court proceedings were immediately available. Local authorities declined to comment on whether the suspect had any prior record.