Radical rapper defies arrest
A rapper in Spain and dozens of his supporters have locked themselves inside a university building, in the artist’s latest attempt to avoid a prison sentence for insulting the country’s monarchy and praising terrorism.
The case of Pablo Hasel, 32, has drawn increasing attention in Spain, and has been linked to the government’s sudden announcement to change a national law that is deemed to curtail freedom of expression.
Over 200 artists, including film director Pedro Almodovar and actor Javier Bardem, signed a petition last week in support of Hasel.
The artist, whose real name is Pablo Rivadulla Duro, is due to serve a reduced sentence from 2018 of nine months in prison for tweets and songs he posted between 2014 and 2016 criticising Spain’s royal family and praising a now-defunct Spanish leftist armed extremist group.
‘‘I won’t allow them to tell me what I have to think, feel or say,’’ he said yesterday.
Known mostly for his often radical anti-establishment criticism, Hasel has previous convictions for assault and praising armed extremist groups, although he served no time behind bars after a previous twoyear prison term was suspended.
This time, his imprisonment seemed imminent. The country’s National Court issued an order for his arrest yesterday after a 10-day period for him to enter prison voluntarily expired.
Accompanied by some 50 supporters, Hasel yesterday barricaded himself inside the rectoral building of the University of Lleida, in the northeastern Catalonia region.
Police need special permission – which has been granted in this case – from academic authorities to enter university buildings.
Spain’s left-wing coalition government announced last week that it would make changes to the country’s criminal code to eliminate prison terms for offences involving freedom of expression. It did not specifically mention Hasel or set a timetable for the changes.
Changes to the code 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 slammed by human rights groups and international organisations for potentially limiting freedom of expression in the name of protecting state and religious institutions.