Of the 79 individuals arrested for aggravated robbery and intimidation at this year’s summer festival in the Spanish city of Bilbao, 75 were of Arab origin, a leaked police detainee list revealed.
The demography of those arrested at the annual nine-day Aste Nagusia celebration was reported by ESdiario, a Spanish digital newspaper, citing an individual named Alvise Pérez, who describes himself as an independent analyst and who published the confidential police detainee list on social media claiming it to be in the national public interest.
The list, which reveals the name and the mugshot of each suspect, reveals what appears to be a high number of males primarily of Maghreb origin, a region that prioritizes Spain as a gateway to Europe due to its proximity to the African continent and the land borders shared at the Spanish African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
According to Spanish media, Pérez claimed to be in possession of another list in relation to arrests for sexual assault and rape, which tells a similar story; however, this is yet to be published.
A total of 209 arrests were made at the festival held from Aug. 19 to Aug. 27, a 29 percent increase from the previous year.
After the first night resulted in 25 arrests, the city mayor, Juan Mari Aburt, pleaded for attendees to have “healthy and respectful fun” at the event, insisting “crimes have no place in Bilbao.”
