Kentucky Senate passes bill making it a crime to insult the police
On March 11, the Republican-majority Kentucky state Senate voted 22 to 11 to approve a bill that would make insulting a police officer a crime. Senate Bill (SB) 211 makes it so that a person could be charged with disorderly conduct a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and up to a $250 fine if one “accosts, insults, taunts, or challenges a law enforcement officer with offensive or derisive words, or by gestures or other physical contact, that would have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response from the perspective of a reasonable and prudent person.”
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias steps down as Spanish deputy prime minister
In an eight-minute video posted to Twitter on Monday, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias announced he will resign as deputy prime minister from the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government to run an “anti-fascist” campaign in the snap regional elections in Madrid. He also announced that Podemos Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz would take over as deputy prime minister and would be the party’s lead candidate in the next general elections.
Iglesias said he made the decision “to prevent the far right from taking over the institutions” in Madrid. This was a reference to projections showing that a coalition between the right-wing Popular Party (PP) and the fascistic Vox party would win the Madrid regional elections, set for May 4.
EU lifts ex-Catalan regional premier Carles Puigdemont’s parliamentary immunity
The European Parliament has lifted the immunity of three Catalan parliamentarians, including former Catalan regional premier Carles Puigdemont. This is the first step to secure their extradition to Madrid, where they could face over a decade in jail for calling peaceful protests and a referendum on Catalan independence in October 2017.
Carles Puigdemont (Credit: govern.cat)
In a vote Tuesday, 404 European Members of Parliament (MEP) of the liberal, conservative and social-democratic blocs supported a resolution sponsored by the fascist Vox party’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. It lifted the immunity of Puigdemont and former MEPs Antoni Comín (former Catalan regional health minister) and Clara Ponsatí (former regional education minister). Against the resolution, there were 247 votes, and 42 MEPs abstained. The ruling Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the right-wing Popular Pa
Spanish media, politicians denounce youth protesting rapper Hasél’s jailing
As protests continue in Catalonia and throughout Spain against the incarceration of rapper Pablo Hasél, the Spanish media and the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government have launched a frenzied campaign to slander protesting youth as “terrorists” and “criminals.” Hasél was jailed in February for nine months on bogus charges of insulting the monarchy and “inciting terrorism” in his tweets and songs.
Last week, the Spanish National Police began investigating whether “terrorist” planning or organising had been behind demonstrations against Hasél’s imprisonment, according to online news site
Spain, Freedom of Expression and the Real Threats Against Democracy | Opinion Carlos Conde Solares
, chair, Spain’s Foro de Profesores On 3/11/21 at 8:00 AM EST
Following the arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél, the world witnessed a substantial campaign of disinformation aimed at discrediting Spain s democracy.
During a visit to Russia by the European Union s Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the block s stance on his regime s treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny by bringing up Spain s hypocrisy regarding the rapper s plight.
Quick off the mark, Venezuelan tyrant Nicolás Maduro cynically expressed his concern at Spain s supposed disregard for the freedom of expression.