The rhymes of rapper Pablo Hasél have been heard in Spain's Congress of Deputies on the day of his imprisonment. MP for the CUP party, Albert Botran, played part of the song Juan Carlos el Borbón from the podium of the Congress. It is one of the songs whose lyrics prompted a court to convict the rapper for insulting the Spanish crown.
Botran played a fragment of the song from his mobile phone at the beginning of his speech on the debate on the so-called Zerolo law of equal treatment and non-discrimination, promoted by the PSOE. "Today, when we are here to talk about a law affecting fundamental rights, it is also important for us talk about the fact that in Spain today a singer enters prison, as in the saddest of dictatorships," protested the MP for the leftist pro-independence party.
Hasel’s song wins applause in Congress
The speaker of Congress, Meritxell Batet, asked the CUP deputy to stop the music and continue his speech, but Botran let the rapper's verses sound for a few more seconds. The MP considered Hasel's imprisonment "shameful" and "ideological discrimination." "Don't hide behind the judges," said Botran, who said Congress also has "responsibility" for the fact that the crimes of insulting the crown and glorifying terrorism still exist.
The start of Botran's speech aroused murmurs of rejection from some deputies, although it also raised applause from some members of Congress who denounced the arrest of the Catalan rapper this Tuesday morning.
In the rest of his speech, the CUP representative spoke against the hate speech and violence which are generated against vulnerable groups. "Hate speech generates violence. We need to face this. Aporophobia is also a serious hate crime which has physical consequences," he asserted, referring to the phobia which is a fear of poverty and of poor people.
The imprisonment of Pablo Hasel
Riot police from the Mossos d'Esquadra entered the University of Lleida at around 7:30am this Tuesday morning to arrest the rapper Pablo Hasél, who had been barricaded in since yesterday to avoid being detained. "Death to the fascist state," Hasel shouted as he got into the police van to be taken to prison, convicted of offences of glorifying terrorism and insulting the monarchy.
The rapper had locked himself in the rectory of the University of Lleida yesterday after refusing to enter prison voluntarily and while waiting for the National Audience court to resolve his appeal. However, on Monday the court dismissed Hasel's appeal for his entry into prison to be suspended and ordered his arrest.