Spanish police accused of beating boy

Spanish police have opened an investigation into the apparent beating of a 13-year-old boy by one of its officers at an anti-…

Spanish police have opened an investigation into the apparent beating of a 13-year-old boy by one of its officers at an anti-austerity protest earlier this week, according to reports.

The incident, a video of which has been uploaded to Youtube, happened during a protest march in the Catalonian city of Tarragona.

In the video, a police officer in body armour appears to strike the boy after he falls to the ground. A woman who remonstrates with officers is also struck in the video.

Director general of police, Manel Prat, confirmed to news website naciodigital.cat that an internal investigation has been opened into the alleged beating.

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Spain was brought to a virtual standstill on Wednesday as part of a European-wide day of anti-austerity action.

The country’s second national strike in eight months saw demonstrations in several cities and a number of violent clashes between protesters and police.

The conservative government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy has implemented a series of reforms and austerity measures in an effort to meet deficit targets set by the European Union.