Pablo Hasel: five years in prison, four convictions
Pablo Hasel has spent five years in prison, with convictions for glorifying terrorism, insults and assault. Political prisoner or repeat offender?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Pablo Hasel marks five years: the record that undermines the narrative
Pablo Hasel has now spent five years behind bars, and the figure has a certain irony to it. The rapper has become a symbol of persecution for expressing opinions, but his court record includes more convictions than fit in a song. Reading the full history blurs the narrative of a political prisoner.
The rundown is a tour of Spain's Incivil Code. In April 2014, the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's high court) sentenced him to two years in prison for glorifying terrorism, over lyrics referring to GRAPO, ETA and Terra Lliure. In 2017, another conviction for resistance or disobedience to authority. In March 2018, the Audiencia Nacional convicted him again for glorifying terrorism and insulting the Crown, a sentence the Supreme Court reduced in 2020 to nine months and one day. And in June of that same year, six months for assaulting a journalist.
Media attention has focused almost exclusively on the opinion-related offences. Some argue this is a political prisoner; others reply that he is a repeat offender with a varied record. The file, as it appears in the court rulings, includes conduct that has little to do with freedom of expression. The open question is whether the narrative of the persecuted artist would withstand scrutiny of the fine print of his convictions.
Pablo Hasel has now spent five years behind bars, and the figure has a certain irony to it. The rapper has become a symbol of persecution for expressing opinions, but his court record includes more convictions than fit in a song. Reading the full history blurs the narrative of a political prisoner.
The rundown is a tour of Spain's Incivil Code. In April 2014, the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's high court) sentenced him to two years in prison for glorifying terrorism, over lyrics referring to GRAPO, ETA and Terra Lliure. In 2017, another conviction for resistance or disobedience to authority. In March 2018, the Audiencia Nacional convicted him again for glorifying terrorism and insulting the Crown, a sentence the Supreme Court reduced in 2020 to nine months and one day. And in June of that same year, six months for assaulting a journalist.
Media attention has focused almost exclusively on the opinion-related offences. Some argue this is a political prisoner; others reply that he is a repeat offender with a varied record. The file, as it appears in the court rulings, includes conduct that has little to do with freedom of expression. The open question is whether the narrative of the persecuted artist would withstand scrutiny of the fine print of his convictions.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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