Spain

“Democratic regeneration” reforms proposed by PM Sánchez fail to address the urgent need to repeal the infamous Citizen Security law, nicknamed the “Gag Law”.

Based on a complaint filed by an imprisoned former judge, the charges against journalist Carlos Sosa include harassment, incitement to hatred, and revelation of secrets.

González was arrested in February 2022 while covering the humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Ukrainian border shortly after Russia’s invasion. He is accused of espionage and is the only journalist behind bars in the EU.

Jiménez told CPJ that this was not the first time he has been threatened by individuals with Cuban accents.

Vox began barring certain media from its headquarters and events during 2019. Since then, it has extended these vetoes, excluding more and more media outlets, journalists and journalists’ associations.

Pablo González was arrested in February 2022 on the Polish-Ukrainian border, where he was reporting on the humanitarian crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The new law legalises gender self-ID, expands access to assisted reproductive techniques, strengthens sexuality education, enables parental recognition for unmarried same-sex couples, and introduces measures to combat discrimination against LGBTQI+ people in various sectors.

In Spain, two journalists were arrested while filming an action by Futuro Vegetal activists at the Prado Museum in Madrid; in the UK, three journalists were arrested while covering Just Stop Oil protests on the M25 motorway in Hertfordshire.

Bauluze is one of many journalists, photographers, and activists who have been fined under the 2015 law for alleged behaviour that endangers the work of law enforcement authorities.

Rights groups condemn Spain’s deportation of Algerian activist Mohamed Benhalima who faces a high risk of torture, arbitrary detention and unfair trial in Algeria.

“While we welcome that public communications strategies to counter disinformation are preferred over restriction-based approaches, we are worried that disinformation is seen as a national security concern and the objectives, actions and levels of the National Procedure fail to determine the aim they sought to protect.”

Hasél was convicted of “glorifying terrorism” in his lyrics and tweets; he now begins a nine-month prison sentence.

Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart were sentenced to nine years in prison on 14 October, having been found guilty of sedition by Spain’s Supreme Court for their participation in Catalonia’s October 2017 independence referendum.

The Catalan civil society leaders have been held in pre-trial detention for more than a year and face up to 17 years in prison if convicted.