Freedom to Pablo Hasél
He 12 February will be the deadline that the National Court gave him to enter prison.
We must mobilize against unjust imprisonment and judicial persecution.
Pablo Hasél is the stage name of Pablo Rivadulla Duró. The justice of the Spanish State wants to transform him into the first prisoner rapper in Europe. His tweets only tell truths about the corruption that permeates the Crown of the Bourbons. His art is expressed in the lyrics of the songs and the music he composes, making use of the right to freedom of expression. Nevertheless, For the institutions, he is a criminal who must be silenced and punished for speaking what he thinks of the Crown and the Security Forces. Spain will have the reprehensible "merit" for being recognized as the first European country to put a rapper behind bars, for him "crime" to sing and express themselves freely.
Hasél was condemned in the year 2014 to two years in prison for alleged glorification of terrorism in the content of his lyrics. As it was his first sentence, he did not go to prison at that time, in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code. In 2020 He was convicted again and currently the judicial apparatus considers that he should be imprisoned for nine months and one day. Adding up all the causes that accumulate, can come close to 20 years in prison. According to statements by Pablo, It is “constant harassment” who has suffered for years, it is not only due to their songs, but also his "Revolutionary militancy". In this sense, ensures that the prosecutor literally recognized that “it was dangerous for being so well known and inciting social mobilization”.
Specific, three are the crimes for which he is charged: insults to the crown, glorification of terrorism and insults to State institutions. A striking feature in this latest judicial process is that the Criminal Chamber of the AN has ruled his entry into prison against the position of the Public Prosecutor, which is the only part of the prosecution in the process.
While, "Judges and Judges for Democracy" considers that it is not so rare that this outrage is carried out and the "Platform for the Right to Freedom of Information" assures that the process has not met the international standards required regarding freedom of expression. The setbacks of the different judicial bodies show that it is a sentence that, once again, seeks to be an example for those who think differently and criticize power and places the artist as "scapegoat".
As Pablo's lawyer has stated, “The resolution responds to the political questions of the Chamber”, and so he explains it: “It is a Chamber closely linked to the legacy that the PP still maintains in the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and they know that, doing this maneuver, going beyond what the parties ask, They create a problem for the current Government because they put him on the ropes in the face of his electorate. On many occasions, both the PSOE and Podemos have promised to repeal a good part of the repressive legislation that the PP promoted during his term and now they are going to have to face the fact that the first rapper jailed in Europe is in Spain”.
It is worth remembering that the Mallorcan rapper Josep Valtònyc, He is not imprisoned because he was exiled in Brussels since the spring of 2018, while the euro order requested against him for a similar sentence is resolved. Valtònyc is also accused of exalting terrorism, insults to the Crown and threats for the content of their songs, with a sentence that would reach three and a half years in prison. Justice does not use the same yardstick to measure everyone. Because, King Emeritus Juan Carlos I continues his stay in Abu Dhabi, sheltered by the hideous Saudi monarchy, without explaining to anyone for your undeclared income, for bribery investigations, of his fortune deposited in tax havens and his millionaire expenses camouflaged to evade taxes. At the by, justice persecutes those who sing, write their critical ideas on social media or demand the right to self-determination of Catalonia.
The PSOE-Unidas Podemos government has the central political responsibility for the abuses of democratic freedoms, even if he tries to camouflage himself as "Left progressive". PSOE-United We Can. To not be less, City Hall "change" of Barcelona commanded by Ada Colau (Common) has hidden an artistic work referring to the emeritus, made yesterday in a mural of the Three Chimneys, in a clear case of "Progressive censorship".
Pablo has said that will not show up of its own free will and that, in that case, they will have to pick him up at his house. While that moment comes, the demonstrations in support of Hasél have been replicated. Throughout the Spanish state rallies are held with songs such as "I also, I am Pablo Hasél ", "Freedom of expression, without going through the prison ","National audience, Fascist Court ”or“ Here it is censored, as in a dictatorship ". Together we demand the democratic and social rights that the Spanish State increasingly violates. The repudiation has crossed the Iberian borders and has been expressed with recitals, graffiti, murals and other actions in different countries. More than two hundred artists have spoken today with a manifesto in favor of Pablo Hasél.
Look the other way before such a situation, would set a dangerous precedent of stillness in the face of the outrages of power. As Hasél has declared, imprisonment is not an attack only against him, but against freedom of expression and, so, against the majority who are not guaranteed, like so many other democratic freedoms. We call for the broadest unit of action in the mobilization for the freedom of Pablo Hasél and respect for freedom of expression.
