17.02.2021 - 10:05
Thousands of people demonstrate on Tuesday evening in Catalonia to protest against the detention of rapper Pablo Hásel early in the morning. The biggest rally is in Barcelona, but there are solidarity marches in dozens of cities all over Catalonia, including Hasél’s hometown, Lleida.
Spain’s National Court has sentenced Hasél to two years and nine months behind bars for two separate cases relating to his songs and tweets. The judiciary deemed them to be “glorification of terrorism” and slander to the crown and Spanish law enforcement. Amnesty International considers that sending Hasél to prison is “unfair and disproportionate”.
Here are some pictures and videos of the rallies:
En marxa la manifestació per la llibertat de Hasel a Barcelona (📹 @albertsalame) https://t.co/vq8FgZTTqs pic.twitter.com/Hj9ssTK5BT
— VilaWeb (@VilaWeb) February 16, 2021
Imatges aèries de la mobilització de suport a @PabloHasel @LlibertatHasel a Barcelona (📸 @albertsalame) https://t.co/vq8FgZTTqs pic.twitter.com/4zfMe6ijX1
— VilaWeb (@VilaWeb) February 16, 2021
A Lleida manifestació massiva per la llibertat de Pablo Hasel, segrestat avui pels cossos repressius 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/dFDdtAySgk
— Plataforma Antirepressiva de Ponent (@antirepre_pon) February 16, 2021
Spain is one of the most repressive countries in relation to artistic freedom. According to a study by Freemuse, an international NGO defending artistic freedom, Spain is the country that has sentenced more musicians to jail in 2018. There are fourteen rappers -Valtonyc, Pablo Hasel and the members of the group La Insurgencia- who have been condemned for crimes of terrorism or offending the Spanish royals
