Who is Pablo Hasél, the Catalan rapper jailed for singing and tweeting against King Juan Carlos I

A rapper named Pablo Hasél managed to organize several protests in Catalonia on Tuesday afternoon (Barcelona, ​​Girona, Sabadell, Tortosa, Lleida) and also in other Spanish cities such as Madrid and Valencia. What started peacefully ended with incidents in the Catalan capital, where some protesters looted a bank branch and others set fire to several garbage containers and motorcycles. Why do people defend this 32 year old musician? Why do the police insist you must be in jail? Is it a rap crime?

The Spanish media week began with the reappearance of the novel by Juan Carlos I, the King Emeritus, walking the streets of Abu Dhabi. Escorted by two assistants, the retired monarch finally showed up after five months of shelter in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The father of the current king Felipe VI is not on vacationIt is not that he took a few months off, but that he is hiding after an episode in which he was involved in an alleged scheme of illegal commissions linked to large sums of money whose origin could be in Saudi Arabia. The story includes an intimate and commercial relationship with a woman who is not his wife, accounts in Switzerland and credit cards with unlimited funds and of suspicious origin. But while all this is happening, the one who is in prison is Pablo Hasél, a Catalan rapper who sings precisely what is sung to him.

This afternoon, Pablo Rivadulla Dura, 32, entered prison after being detained by the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police, at the University of Lleida. What does your sentence say? “Exaltation of terrorism and insults to the Crown.” The artist who chose to make himself known under the name of Pablo Hasél, had until last Friday to present himself voluntarily after being sentenced to nine months in prison. As he failed to do so, he was eventually forcibly arrested and transferred to Ponent Prison (also in Lleida), where he will serve his sentence. Since Monday, Hasél had been barricaded in the presbytery building, surrounded by sympathizers who support his cause and who condemn the persecution he has suffered in recent years.

“They will never shut us up. Death to the fascist state “, shouted Hasél before getting into the patrol car. Although he resisted, the musician did not use force or attempt to flee, and had tweeted on the same Monday that the Audition dictated his search and capture: “I am locked up with a lot of solidarity to the University of Lleida (UdL), will have to explode it to arrest me and put me in prison. It’s in the presbytery of Rambla Aragó in case anyone from here wants to help ”. If all goes its course, the rapper will have to spend two years in prison because his initial sentence (9 months) was extended because he did not even pay the fine he was awarded. Pablo is also accused of: having participated in the attempted attack against the Lleida government sub-delegation on March 25, 2018 (in the midst of the demonstration against the arrest of the former fugitive identity Carles Puigdemont), and assaulting a journalist and a witness during a trial.

During his first conviction, Hasél was accused of praising ETA and Al Qaeda’s attacks and incitement to hatred against politicians from the People’s Party and the Spanish Socialist Party. (to which the current president of this country belongs, Pedro Sanchez). The National Court indicated that campaigns in favor of the singer “cannot imply the non-application of the current law” and that “with this criminal record, it would be absolutely discriminatory against other criminals, and also a serious exception. individual in the application of the law, totally devoid of justification, suspension of the execution of the sentence to this convicted person ”.

Hasél’s anger with the King Emeritus is personal and dates back to a few years ago, when the rapper posted the music video for his song “Juan Carlos el Bobón” on YouTube. Playing with the name of the royal house, Borbón, the Catalan listed a series of criticisms of the monarch: drunk, party animal, murderer of his brother Alfonso. Especially what the song says, the opening of the clip stands out in which an archival interview exposes King Felipe’s father talking about the wonders of late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. “Living example”, “patriotic performance”, “affection and admiration” are some of the words that the king then acting devotes to the genocide which reigned over Spain between 1939 and 1975.

In “Juan Carlos el Bobón”, Hasél openly criticizes the monarchy and calls for the republic. This point brings him closer to United We Can, the party he co-governs in Spain, and which has announced that he will beg the musician’s forgiveness. The president of the parliamentary group, Jaume Asens, insists on pushing forward all that is to strengthen freedom of expression and repeal so-called crimes of opinion: “We understand that it can not be democratic normality that, as long as the investigation into corruption presumed in the monarchy is closed, whoever criticizes in the songs ”. From his Twitter account, the vice-president of Spain, Pablo Iglesias, he spoke while retweeting messages from Podemos, the party to which he belongs: “Rapper Pablo Hasel is being held. Shame on anyone who brags about this “total democratic normalcy” and considers themselves progressive. Will they cover their eyes? There is no progress if we refuse to recognize the current democratic deficits ”.

“Rape is not a crime. The tweet is not terrorism. Expressing oneself freely is a human right. If you agree, raise your voice and sign! », Invites a post from Amnesty International and with the hashtag #NoPiensoCallarme confirms that this match is played both on the courts and on the networks. On the other hand, a manifesto signed by more than 200 artists calls for the release of Hasél and affirms that “the Spanish state came at the top of the list of countries which responded the most to artists for the content of their songs”. The names of those who support the accused carry weight: singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat, director Pedro Almodovar and actor Javier Bardem are just a few of those who signed the statement. The musician has a lot of support, as in 2018 where a dozen musicians reversed the theme of discord and added a few verses. This is how he became “Los Borbones son robones”, sung a little in Catalan and a little in Spanish. On this occasion, in addition to the Spanish artists, Argentina’s Sara Hebe also participated, contributing her rhymes to the event.

Pablo Hasél had also had problems with Angel Ros, mayor of his city, Lleida, to whom he dedicated “Menti-Ros” in 2014: “An ultra-Catholic with illusions of grandeur, he only serves the rich, but then he prays to Christ (…) Menti- Ros you deserve a shot. Lie-Ros you screwed us up so much ”. At that time, the musician was on trial for assaulting the politician in question and although he escaped prison for not having a record at that time, he had to pay a fine of 540 euros. This time the situation is different, although freedom of expression is still at stake. Can you sing something? Are there limits to art? Musicians who do not even agree with the style of Pablo Hasél, ask for his release. Tomorrow they can be the ones on the bench.

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