Spain

This statement was originally published on pen-international.org on 8 August 2018. On 7 August 2018, Carles Torner, Executive Director of PEN International, visited civil society leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, currently held in Lledoners prison near Barcelona, at the request of a family member. They have been held in pre-trial detention since 16 October […]

Spain is one of a handful of European countries that still retain criminal libel law; politicians and public officials involved in corruption scandals are exploiting this legislation in an attempt to stop reporters exposing their misdeeds.

Vague bans on glorification of terrorism and insulting the monarchy have ensnared a growing number of artists and social media users.

Spain’s ‘gag law’ was used to fine journalists while rappers and Twitter users were prosecuted.

As the regional election draws near, concerns grow over reports of unprecedented levels of harassment and violence against journalists.

HRW has found that Spanish police engaged in excessive force when confronting demonstrators in Catalonia during a disputed referendum, using batons to hit non-threatening protestors and causing multiple injuries.

The seizure of .cat domains is a worrying signal that the Spanish government places its own interests in quelling the Catalonian independence movement above the human rights of its citizens to access a free and open Internet.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its appeal to the Spanish authorities not to extradite Hamza Yalçin to Turkey. A Swedish journalist of Turkish origin, Yalçin will complete his 50th day in detention in Spain on 22 September 2017.

Yalçin, 59, a citizen of Sweden, is being held in custody in Spain after being arrested on 3 August at the Barcelona airport in compliance with an international detention order issued by Turkey – a country with as many as 157 journalists and media workers currently behind bars.

On 1 October 2017, the autonomous region of Catalonia will hold a historic referendum on whether to declare independence from Spain. Cathal Sheerin spoke with Cinta Arasa – novelist, independence activist and board member of the Catalan PEN centre – about the repercussions for political free expression.

Can Europeans be sentenced to jail for vague references to terrorism? It already happened. And it is a trend that threatens to spread throughout Europe.

A Spanish judge has ordered 12 European newspapers to stop publishing information about the “Football Leaks” – revelations about alleged tax fraud by professional footballers, including Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

A Spanish judge has ordered 12 European newspapers to stop publishing information about the “Football Leaks” – revelations about alleged tax fraud by professional footballers, including Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now in her sixties, journalist and activist Teresa Toda is a supporter of peaceful self-determination for the Basque region. One of 30 journalists prosecuted on terrorism-related charges, she was imprisoned in 2007. She now campaigns for free expression and prisoners’ rights. Cathal Sheerin, a writer and journalist with a particular interest in human rights in Latin America and Europe, interviewed her for IFEX.

In March, Axier López became the first journalist fined by Spain’s central government for taking photographs of a police officer.

This piece forms part of a reporting series on an international high-level press freedom mission to Spain led by IPI in June 2015. In this piece, Professor Katrin Nyman Metcalf, an independent member of the mission, reflects on critical legislative changes, including Spain’s new Public Security Law, many of which took effect on July 1.