The Spanish justice had considered that the words of the rapper Valtonyc were among others the apologia "indisputable" Basque separatists of ETA. For his lawyers, these texts fall under the freedom of expression.
José Miguel Arenas Beltran, aka Valtonyc, was exiled to Belgium after confirmation in February 2018 of his sentence in Spain to three and a half years in prison for "apologizing for terrorism" , "insulting the Crown" and "threats " He has been targeted since 24 May by a European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish courts.
The Belgian court, to which Spain has demanded the extradition of a Spanish rapper sentenced in his country for "apologizing for terrorism" in his songs, decided Tuesday to question the Court of Justice of the EU on his case, have we learned from a judicial source.
This should delay by at least a year the final decision of the Court of Appeal of Ghent (north), which is submitted, according to several experts interviewed by AFP.
The Spanish sentence is based on 2012 and 2013 texts
Originally from Mallorca, the musician rapped in Catalan, and these are texts of 2012 and 2013 that earned him his sentence. "Let them be afraid as a civil guard in the Basque Country" or "the king has a rendezvous in the village square with a rope around his neck," he says, for example.
The Spanish judiciary considered that these words were among other things the "indisputable" apology of the Basque separatists of ETA, an armed organization that bloodied Spain until 2011 and classified as terrorist by the EU.
Freedom of speech according to the rapper's lawyers
For his lawyers, these texts fall under the freedom of expression. At the end of October, they brought an action before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (France) to denounce a violation of his right to express himself freely.
As for the CJEU, it makes its judgments "on average 15 months" after receiving preliminary questions, said Tuesday to AFP a source in this jurisdiction.