The right to artistic freedom in Spain
12.2.2021
Priority question for written answer P-000898/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Antoni Comín i Oliveres (NI), Clara Ponsatí Obiols (NI), Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI)
Freemuse, a NGO defending the right to artistic freedom worldwide and a collaborator with the United Nations, has confirmed that Spain ranks first in terms of the number of artists handed a prison sentence[1], with 14 cases, followed by Iran, with 13.
The cases are: Valtònyc, sentenced in 2018 to three and a half years in prison and currently in exile; Pablo Hásel, sentenced in 2014, 2018 and 2020, sentenced to two years and nine months in prison; and 12 members of the rap band La Insurgencia[2], sentenced to six months in prison.
An EU Member State therefore tops the ranking of the most repressive states against artists.
- 1.Does the Commission have an opinion on this?
- 2.If so, has it done anything to reverse the situation and repair the damage to the EU’s reputation as an area of creative freedom?
- 3.Does it believe that the EU can demand respect for creative freedom in third countries when one of its Member States leads the world ranking of persecuted and imprisoned artists?