Faithful readers of this blog know that I say what I think. I can be somewhat outspoken, and my views aren’t always politically correct.
This leads me to wonder if I might be arrested on my upcoming trip to Spain this summer.
It seems that in Spain, “hate speech” has been outlawed. Hate speech in Spain seems to be a criticism of mass immigration, Muslims, or any minority group. Under article 510.1 of the Criminal Code, it is illegal to “publicly promote or incite directly or indirectly to hatred, hostility, discrimination or violence against a group […] for racist, anti-Semitic or other reasons related to ideology, religion or beliefs. ” It is punishable by one to four years in prison and a fine.
According to the Gatestone Institute International Policy Council:
Spanish prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation to determine whether the secretary general of Vox, a fast-rising Spanish populist party, is guilty of hate speech for warning of an “Islamist invasion.”
The criminal inquiry, based on a complaint from a Muslim activist group, appears aimed at silencing critical discussion of Islam ahead of national elections on April 28. More broadly, however, the case poses a potentially immeasurable threat to the exercise of free speech in Spain.
Prosecutors in Valencia, the third-largest city in Spain, said that they were investigating Javier Ortega Smith, the second-ranking leader of Vox, for an alleged hate crime after they received a complaint from a Muslim group called “Muslims Against Islamophobia” (Musulmanes Contra la Islamofobia).
At a rally in Valencia on September 16, 2018, Ortega Smith declared that Europe’s “common enemy” is the “Islamist invasion.”
That’s it! He spoke out against the mass immigration of Muslims into the country. He didn’t say he hates them and wants them all dead. He never encouraged violence against them. He simply spoke out against an immigration policy like others leading to the ruin of many European nations.
If Ortega-Smith is convicted, Spain will become a dangerous place for free thought, and certainly for free Speech.
I love Europe and especially Spain, but I won’t keep my mouth shut about the things I believe. I hope I don’t have to ask you to bail me out of a Spanish jail!
— Mr. Evil
Steve, the amazing thing is that European leaders are either oblivious to the truth, or they just don’t care. Maybe some of the populist movements beginning to appear in Europe will make a difference.
From a demographic standpoint, Europe with it’s below 2.0 birthrate may have already doomed it’s culture thanks to almost open borders?Steve