Pablo Hasél Faces 9 Months in Prison over Tweets

Free speech is the cornerstone of any democracy – I think we can all agree on that. However, can that free speech ever become a crime? Well, it depends. Words are powerful weapons, and when those words incite violence, the difference between free speech and harassment becomes a blurry line.

We lived this blurry line through the attacks on the Capitol in January, and something similar has been happening in Spain this week too; the dramatic arrest of Spanish rapper Pablo Hasél, who was convicted of criticizing the monarchy and supporting a Basque separatist group in social media posts, has sparked protests and a debate over free speech and cancel culture in the country.

Hasél was arrested on Tuesday, the day after the expiration of a deadline to turn himself in to the police for his March 2018 conviction, and has begun serving a nine-month prison sentence. Since then, many peaceful (and not so peaceful) protesters have taken to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona.

The rapper was convicted due to his 60 tweets published between 2014 and 2016 for “glorification of terrorism.” He was also fined some 25,000 euros ($30,000) for insults and tweets likening former king Juan Carlos I to a mafia boss and accusing police of torturing and killing demonstrators and migrants.

“Demonstrations are necessary but not enough, we must support those who go further,” read one of his tweets, indicating that he might support violence. Hasél paid homage on his Twitter account to armed Spanish groups like GRAPO, a Marxist “anti-fascist resistance” organization accused of around 1,000 acts of violence, including 80 murders and various kidnappings, and the now-inactive Basque separatist organization, ETA, which during four decades killed at least 853 people.

Another favorite target of the rapper is the Spanish Crown, which he labels as “parasites” that burden Spanish citizens. For his most recent prison sentence, the judges flagged one of his songs called “Juan Carlos el Bobon” — (“Juan Carlos the idiot”) — a play on the Bourbon lineage of the former king.

Hasél has also accused the royal family of corruption and incest, suggesting “the guillotine” for one of the former monarch’s daughters. He also released a song called “Death to the Bourbons,” although it was not flagged by the court (yet).

And this is when the debate starts. His supporters claim that he was just practicing free speech and artists should be able to express their feelings and ideas in their music without getting punished. On the other hand, lawmakers argue that when that free speech turns into incitement to commit harassment or violent acts towards his targets or to the city, the author of that free speech should be held accountable. For instance, some of the initially peaceful demonstrations quickly turned into violent riots, burning trash containers, traffic signs, and a bank, and throwing bottles and pyrotechnic material at the police force, which are punishable actions.

Should public figures be more mindful of what they say and how they say it? Probably. Should they be responsible for the actions other people are taking when interpreting those words? That’s where it gets tricky…