{"id":2658,"date":"2021-03-05T17:12:20","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T22:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/?p=2658"},"modified":"2021-03-05T17:18:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T22:18:19","slug":"arrest-of-rapper-pablo-hasel-sparks-uproar-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/2021\/03\/05\/arrest-of-rapper-pablo-hasel-sparks-uproar-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrest of Rapper Pablo Has\u00e9l Sparks Uproar in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Morano<\/strong>
\nInternational News Writer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
A protestor in Barcelona is arrested during demonstrations demanding the release of rapper Pablo Has\u00e9l. (Photo courtesy of Albert Gea\/Reuters)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The recent arrest and jailing of a Spanish rapper has left Barcelona in a state of violence and unrest and has even sparked debates over freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

Pablo Has\u00e9l, a native of Catalonia, was arrested on Feb. 16 and convicted for his lyrics and tweets supporting terrorism and insulting the Spanish monarchy<\/a>, even going as far as comparing Spanish judges to Nazis<\/a>. This has since caused the citizens of Barcelona to erupt in protests, sometimes becoming violent, with protesters smashing the fronts of shops, wrecking police vehicles, and throwing glass bottles at police officers<\/a>. Many people have been injured and dozens have been arrested, including ten for assaulting police officers<\/a> in Barcelona. Mossos d\u2019Escuadra, the Catalan regional police, had even issued warnings<\/a> to other citizens of the Barcelona area, telling people to avoid the areas where the protests were the most prominent. \u00a0Madrid has also seen protests but were instead more peaceful, with crowds chanting \u201cFree Pablo Has\u00e9l!\u201d while being watched by heavy police presence<\/a>. Further protests have been seen in other Spanish cities such as Cordoba, Seville, and Santander<\/a>. Multiple attempts at calls for peace and an end to the violence have been made. Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, made an appeal saying: \u201cDefending the freedom of expression doesn\u2019t justify in any case the destruction of property, frightening our fellow citizens, and hurting businesses already hurt by the crisis.\u201d<\/a> Jos\u00e9 Luis Mart\u00ednez-Almeida the mayor of Madrid, tweeted: \u201cThe violent and those who do not accept the rules have no place in our society.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
A crowd in Madrid protests the sentencing of rapper Pablo Has\u00e9l. (Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Jim\u00e9nez\/EFE)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police made the arrest after barging into a university building in Lleida, Has\u00e9l\u2019s hometown, where he had barricaded himself<\/a>. Hasel had received a nine-month prison sentence in 2018 for his tweets, which were posted between 2014 and 2016<\/a>, and was only recently arrested for failing to meet a deadline to turn himself in<\/a>. The rapper\u2019s tweets and lyrics were seen as a violation of Spain\u2019s 2015 Public Security Law, which essentially outlaws any speech that praises terrorist groups or insults the Spanish monarchy<\/a>. After the arrest, people across the country had called this law into question, claiming that this \u201cgag\u201d rule, a term used by critics, puts limits on their freedoms of speech and expression. Many Spanish celebrities are becoming involved, with names such as film director Pedro Almod\u00f3var and Hollywood actor Javier Bardem<\/a> signing a petition for Has\u00e9l\u2019s release. In response to the backlash, the Spanish government has announced that it will be making changes to the law and its penalties<\/a>, but whether or not it will affect Has\u00e9l is not yet clear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact Michael at\u00a0michael.morano1@student.shu.edu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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