Pablo Hasel, a rapper from Spain, has been arrested for “glorifying terrorism” over tweets and lyrics that attacked the country’s monarchy and police.
Hasel had barricaded himself inside the University of Lleida to avoid capture, but Catalan police broke in and apprehended him a day after he arrived.
The rapper is facing a nine-month prison sentence for lyrics and tweets that are said to glorify terrorism and slander the Spanish monarchy and police force. The capture at the University came after Hasel was due to turn himself in last week but failed to do so.
As the BBC report, Hasel shouted “they will never silence us; death to the fascist state” as he was dragged away from the building he had been hiding in by police.
See footage from the police’s entrance at the University below.
Les solidàries plantant cara dins el rectorat.
És un segrest, la #LlibertatPabloHasel no s’entrega. pic.twitter.com/UDj1iDI7HX
— CDRs de Lleida (@CDRsLleida) February 16, 2021
In tweets sent early this morning (February 16), Hasel wrote that the message may be “the last thing I write before I am incarcerated…” adding that he would go to prison “with my head held high.”
“We cannot allow them to dictate what we can say, what we can feel or what we can do,” he added. See the tweets in Spanish below.
ya lo he dicho todo durante años. Pero si tengo que decir algo hago una llamada a enfrentarse al miedo y desobedecer ante tantas imposiciones injustas de una tiranía cada vez peor camuflada. O lo hacemos o van a seguir avanzando como lo siguen haciendo sin que se les pare.
— Pablo Hasel (@PabloHasel) February 15, 2021
Me quedé aquí sin exiliarme para contribuir más a difundir el mensaje, a la movilización y sobre todo a la organización. Me encarcelarán con la cabeza alta por no haber cedido a su terror, por haber aportado mi grano de arena a lo que menciono. Todos podemos hacerlo.
— Pablo Hasel (@PabloHasel) February 15, 2021
A petition to grant Hasel release from prison was signed by more than 200 artists, including film director Pedro Almodóvar and Hollywood star Javier Bardem.
In the wake of his arrest, Amnesty International said that the news was “terrible news for the freedom of expression in Spain,” calling it an “absolute outrage”.
Terrible noticia para la #LibertadDeExpresión en España. Los Mossos han detenido a Pablo Hasél en la Universidad de Lleida. ¡Indignación absoluta! Este es el vídeo de la vergüenza.
Abrimos HILO.
@PabloHasel #PabloHasel #LlibertatPabloHasel #NoPiensoCallarme https://t.co/59ledNHVHi— Amnistía Internacional España (@amnistiaespana) February 16, 2021
The petition for Hasel’s release was upheld by a Spanish court on Monday (February 15).
The post Spanish rapper Pablo Hasel arrested for “glorifying terrorism” after police storm university appeared first on NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News.
