BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Protests over the imprisonment of a rapper convicted for insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorist violence have morphed for the third night in a row into rioting. Pablo Hasél began this week to serve a 9-month sentence in a northeastern prison. His case has triggered a heated debate over the limits of free speech in Spain and a political storm. The ruling coalition’s junior partner has filed a petition for a “total pardon” for the artist and another rapper who fled to Belgium in 2018. Hasél has also lost a separate appeal and is looking at an additional prison sentence of 2 1/2 years for obstructing justice and assault in 2017.
