Rap revolution. Why are there protests in Spain?

The rapper’s arrest sparked thousands of protests in Catalonia, the demonstrations ending in clashes with the police.

Pablo Asel is a Spanish rapper known for his radical left views, which he expresses in the lyrics of his songs.

Asel regularly criticized the Spanish monarchy, the government and the capitalist system in general.

As a result, Asel agreed to two years in prison, the sentence was reduced to 9 months, but the rapper tried to avoid the punishment entrenched with supporters in one of the universities of Catalonia.

The police detained Asel, but now he has to face protests in support of him, which escalate into mass fights.

Sharp tongue

In his Twitter account, which has 132,000 followers, Asel compared the Spanish judges to the Nazis, called the country’s former king Juan Carlos the mafia boss, and also expressed his support for the Basque separatist group ETA, whose activities are officially banned. in Spain.

In 2018, Asel was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism and insulting the real person, according to 64 of his tweets and the lyrics to one of the songs.

The rapper was convicted under a law passed three years earlier: his main objective was to prevent the glorification of the activities of groups like ETA. However, he also introduced rules prohibiting offensive statements against the monarchy and insulting religious sentiments.

Here are some rough translations of some of the tweets for which he received a prison sentence:

“The police kill 15 immigrants and they are saints. People defend themselves from their violence and we are “violent terrorists and rabble.”

“Thousands of old people freeze and have no roof over their heads, while monarchs are graceful in palaces.”

Asel published a clip titled “Juan Carlos el Bobón”, mentioned in the verdict, in 2016 – in the text he critically describes the biography of the Spanish monarch, emphasizes his connections with the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and claims that the king financed ISIS, facilitating agreements between Spain and Saudi Arabia.

There is no escape from prison

While the trials lasted, Asel was on the run. His assigned prison sentence was reduced to nine months. In early 2021, the verdict was approved by the Supreme Court, and on February 12 the rapper was ordered to report to the police for arrest and then sent to prison. However, shortly before that, he publicly stated that he would not do this.

Asel and several dozen supporters barricaded themselves in a university building in the Catalan city of Lleida. On the morning of February 16, after minor clashes, he was detained by police officers.

The rapper’s arrest sparked thousands of protests across the country.

EPA

In Barcelona alone, some 2,000 people joined the protests and waved banners reading “Free Pablo.” The protesters set garbage cans on fire and threw various objects at the guards.

EPA

The demonstrations ended in clashes with the police: five people were arrested, 33 were injured, including 17 policemen.

At the same time, more than 200 cultural figures, including director Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem, signed a petition against the rapper’s sentence.