MADRID (AP) – Riots broke out this week in many Spanish cities during protests over freedom of expression over the imprisonment of a little-known rapper for insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorism.
But the issue has now become a hot potato for the country’s coalition government, with the far-left junior partner demanding pardon from the rapper – while criticizing police for alleged brutality.
WHO IS PABLO HASÉL?
Until a few weeks ago, Hasél, 32, was not really a household name in Spain. A biting, anti-establishment rapper, he is considered a poet by some and a punk by others.
A supporter of Catalonia’s secession from Spain, he has faced the law several times, earning him more than one sentence, although he was yet to be convicted. In addition to his tweets and texts, he has also been charged with assault, obstruction of justice and burglary.
But he recently insulted again with a song and tweets in which he insulted former King Juan Carlos I and praised terror groups, urging authorities to seek his arrest and put him in prison in his hometown in northeastern Catalonia Lleida for a imprisonment of nine months.
RADICAL LYRIC
Hasél has disrupted many feathers and exasperated authorities over the past decade. In the insults against the monarchy, he described the former king as ‘a mafia gangster who plundered the Spanish kingdom’.
In tweets, he referred to a deceased member of the defunct Basque armed terrorist group ETA as being “exterminated by the torturing state”. In other compositions he praised other terror groups and advocated bomb attacks on Spanish state television and the Basque socialist politician Patxi López.
Some saw this as an exercise of his right to free speech, but the law held differently.
THE PROTESTS
Hasél had warned that he would not voluntarily surrender to serve his term in office. He hid from supporters at a university in Lleida for 24 hours last Monday before police took him away – maskless and shouting angrily at supporters.
Protests, initially peaceful, arose in several Catalan cities, including Barcelona. Hooded protesters began throwing objects at the police and set fire to dumpsters to erect street barricades. Police responded with foam bullets and bat charges. A young woman lost an eye.
On Tuesday, protests spread across the country with serious disturbances in Madrid. Wednesday’s protests were less and less, but again violent.
AN UNPOPULAR LAW
Under attack is the public security law drafted by a previous conservative government, which many believe was intended to curtail anti-government protests and protect the police.
The law has been used against other rappers and tweeters – even puppeteers. Hasél’s case sparked criticism from Amnesty International and led to a petition from some 200 cultural figures, including film director Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem.
The coalition government, feeling the mounting pressure, pledged to amend the criminal code to abolish imprisonment for crimes related to freedom of expression.
NO IMMEDIATE END IN SIGHT
With more protests being held, the task of the Spanish government and police is to calm the situation on the street and to ease the political debate.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government has defended the police and quashed violence, but he must contain the break with his far-left coalition partner. The fact that United We Can does not publicly condemn the violence has fueled calls from the opposition to oust the leader from government, which could topple the coalition and trigger new national elections.