LLEIDA, Spain (AP) – A Spanish rapper and dozens of his supporters locked themselves inside a university building on Monday in the artist’s last attempt to avoid a prison sentence for insulting the country’s monarchy and praising terrorism.
The case of Pablo Hasél, 32, has attracted more and more attention in Spain and is related to the government’s sudden announcement to change a national law that supposedly restricts freedom of expression. More than 200 artists, including filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem, signed a petition last week in support of the rapper.
The artist, whose real name is Pablo Rivadulla Duró, is expected to serve a reduced sentence from 2018 of nine months in prison for tweets and songs he posted between 2014 and 2016 criticizing the Spanish royal family and praising an armed extremist group of Spanish left now extinct.
“I will not allow them to tell me what I have to think, feel or say,” Hasél told the Associated Press on Monday. “It serves as an extra incentive to keep writing the same songs.”
Known mainly for his often radical criticism of the system, he has had previous convictions for aggression and praise for armed extremist groups, although he did not serve any time after suspending 2 years in prison.
This time, his arrest seemed imminent. The country’s National Court issued an order for his arrest on Monday, after a 10-day period for him to enter the prison voluntarily expired on Friday.
But the artist said he would not go without showing resistance and drawing attention to his case. On Monday, accompanied by about 50 supporters, Hasél barricaded himself within the rectory of the University of Lleida, in northeastern Catalonia.
The police need special permission – which was granted in this case – from academic authorities to enter university buildings, which have been the scene of protests in the past.
Defiantly, the rapper tweeted: “They will have to invade to take me and arrest me”.
He told the AP that Monday’s events were “a call to organize our solidarity and take the pressure off the streets”.
“There is a lot of solidarity from people who understand that this is not just an attack on me,” added Hasél. “But also against our fundamental democratic freedoms. Freedoms that are being continuously suppressed by the State. When facing aggression against us, we must give a collective response. “
Spain’s left-wing coalition government unexpectedly announced last week that it would make changes to the country’s penal code to eliminate prison sentences for crimes involving freedom of expression. He did not specifically mention Hasel or set a timetable for the changes.
The proposal is rejected by the conservative opposition Popular Party and the far-right party Vox.
Code changes under a new Public Security Law, known as the “Gag Law”, were made in 2015 by the then Popular Party government and have long been criticized by human rights groups and international organizations for potentially limiting freedom of expression the name of protecting state and religious institutions.
“Pablo Hasél’s arrest makes the sword on the head of all public figures who dare to openly criticize the actions of state institutions even more evident,” said the artists’ petition.
“We are aware that if we allow Pablo to be arrested, tomorrow they can come after any of us, until they have managed to silence any sigh of dissent,” he added.
The Spanish branch of Amnesty International also defended Hasél and urged the government to introduce legal changes. In a statement last week, the international rights group pointed out other social media users, journalists and artists who have been similarly condemned in the past.
“Expressions that do not incite violence in a clear and direct way cannot be criminalized,” said the director of the AI branch, Esteban Beltrán.
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Ciarán Giles and Aritz Parra in Madrid also contributed.