While debates over freedom of expression and accusations of “canceling culture” continue to simmer around the world, the issue last week emerged as a fierce battle cry in the streets of Spain.
A provocative Spanish rapper has become an unlikely figure for widespread protests and sparked a debate about freedom of expression in the European country.
Pablo Hasél’s Tweets and the lyrics came back to haunt him, as the anti-establishment musician was arrested last Tuesday on charges of insulting the Spanish monarchy and glorifying terrorism, spawning night after night of protests in the country’s main cities, some of which became violent.
Hasél – whose full name is Pablo Rivadulla Duró – missed a deadline earlier this month to surrender to the police to serve a nine-month prison sentence handed down in 2018, when he was convicted of letters and tweets comparing Spanish judges to Nazis and summons of former King Juan Carlos, a mafia boss. He also made references to the Basque separatist paramilitary group known as ETA, which sought independence from Spain.
Instead, Hasél barricaded himself at a university in the Catalan city of Lleida before he was finally arrested and jailed.
“Tomorrow could be you,” he tweeted before being arrested and after retweeting the letters for which he was convicted.
“We cannot allow them to dictate what to say, what to feel and what to do,” he added.
His supporters and those who criticize the perceived limits on freedom of expression took to the streets of cities including the capital, Madrid; Valence; and the regional capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, where thousands shouted “Freedom for Pablo Hasél” and “No more police violence”.
As tensions rose on Saturday, police clashed with members of marginal groups who set up barricades on the streets and smashed shop windows in central Barcelona.
Pepe Ivorra García, 18, a student from the city who joined the protests on Thursday night, said he went out peacefully to support Hasél and what he called an “attack” on the democratic freedoms that are “part of the backbone” of Spanish constitution.
“I am not Catalan or pro-independence, but I am a Democrat,” García told NBC News. “I humbly consider it a shame and a democratic anomaly that in a 21st century European country there are prisoners in prison because of their ideas.”
Hasél became an unlikely champion of freedom of expression after his case drew attention to Spain’s 2015 Public Security Act. Enacted by a previous conservative-led government, the law prevents insults to religion, monarchy and the glorification of banned armed groups like ETA.
More than 200 artists, including filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem, signed an open letter last week in solidarity with Hasél.
Human rights organization Amnesty International Spain also condemned the rapper’s arrest as a “disproportionate restriction on his freedom of expression”.
The so-called “gag law” of 2015 was a “setback” for freedom of speech and peaceful assembly in Spain, said Koldo Casla, professor of law at the University of Essex in England and former chief of staff to the human rights commissioner of the Basque Country.
“Public authorities have had an excessive margin of maneuver to impose administrative fines, with inhibiting effects on peaceful demonstrations,” he told NBC News.
Casla said that although Hasél’s songs can be considered “cruel or deplorable”, they are not enough reason to apply the penal code. He added that the furor created by his case should be an opportunity for lawmakers to “amend the penal code to make sure it is compatible with the highest standards of freedom of expression”.
The debate prompted Spain’s left-wing coalition government to announce that it will seek to reform the 2015 law by introducing milder penalties and giving greater tolerance to forms of artistic and cultural expression.
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Spanish protests, however, should concern neighboring countries, Patrick Breyer, a member of the European Parliament, told NBC News. He said that Hasél’s case represented an attack on “legitimate dissent” and should be “a major concern” for the European Union.
“Spain is going too far, interpreting and using its anti-terror laws, and I fear that it may overflow,” said Breyer. “I think satire, jokes and the arts are a very important part of society … and that it is counterproductive to suppress this type of speech, and the same applies to criticisms of the police and the crown – this is extremely important in a democracy. “
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the violence in the protests.
“Democracy protects freedom of expression, including the expression of the most horrible and absurd thoughts, but democracy never, ever protects violence,” he said on Friday.
Not all Spaniards support Hasél’s case.
Rafa Morata, 49, an elementary school teacher, called the rapper a “leftist extremist”, telling NBC News that his arrest was not because of his lyrics or tweets, but because he was “glorifying terrorism”.
“His entry into prison sparked a debate about the freedom of expression that his supporters used to cause riots in the streets,” said Morata, adding that the law unintentionally made Hasél “a victim and a hero”.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Matthew Mulligan contributed.