DISINFO: Spanish authorities protect neo-Nazi demonstrations while sending rappers to jail
SUMMARY
Freedom of expression is again in the spotlight in Spain after the arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél, sentenced on crimes of exaltation of terrorism and insults to the Crown. His crime was tweeting. Do you think that in Spain the so-called ‘gag laws’ are used equally against everyone? In Spain, according to this law, tweeting against the monarchy can entail prison sentences or high fines, but the Constitution protects demonstrations like the one that took place in Madrid on February 13, 2021, in which neo-Nazis paraded, sang fascist songs and expressed anti-Semitic proclamations with the goodwill and protection of police authorities.
RESPONSE
The narrative is false. The coincidence in time of the jailing of rapper Pablo Hasél and a far-right demonstration in Madrid in which neo-Nazi symbols and messages were exhibited is being exploited by pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets, in order to frame Spain as having a selective approach to freedom of expression in which repressive laws are applied to left-wing protesters while Nazis are left untouched.
Though Hasél’s incarceration is very controversial and has been criticised by international institutions like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and by leading Spanish intellectuals and politicians, he was sent to prison for an accumulation of sentences against him, including one for aggression against a journalist during a demonstration, so it is not true that he is going to jail only for tweeting and for his lyrics. So-called ‘gag laws’ and legal restrictions against criticising or insulting the Royal Family have been the subject of widespread domestic and international criticism and debate, and the Spanish government led by the Socialist Party is working to abrogate them.
The mentioned demonstration in Madrid was a homage to the so-called Blue Division, a unit of volunteers that Spanish dictator Francisco Franco sent to fight alongside the Wehrmacht after the invasion of the Soviet Union. The history of the Blue Division is a complex one, as the group not only included pro-Nazi volunteers but also forced conscripts and former anti-Francoist fighters. While the political character of these homages and its attraction for far-right and neo-Nazi elements is undeniable, they have been considered by Spanish authorities as comparable, in the other side of the political spectrum, to those paid to the International Brigades or the Republican combatants who fought with Allied forces in WWII. As such, they have been traditionally tolerated as long as they stayed in the framework allowed by Spanish laws.
In this case, one of the speakers made openly anti-Semitic comments, but Spanish authorities immediately opened an investigation for hate crimes. Therefore, it is false that neo-Nazis acted “with the goodwill and protection of police authorities”. Also, in January 2021 Spain’s Supreme Court ratified a prison sentence against two Nazi rock bands charged with hate speech, so contrary to what this disinformation story hints, it is not true that restrictions to freedom of expression are only applied to the left.
Accusing European countries of supporting fascism and Nazism is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative. See other cases in our database, such as claims that the Polish society is being prepared for absolving the Nazis; that the Obama Administration fomented a Nazi coup in Ukraine in 2014; that by praising the Forest Brothers, NATO equated itself to the Nazi regime; or that extremists and Nazis are being trained in Ukraine to act in Belarus, where the aim was to relive Nazism.