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Spain makes organizing a protest a crime punishable by jail

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http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/327487/20120412/spain-protest-dudget-violence.htm

Spanish bloggers could face up to two years in jail for organizing street protests, according to draconian new laws proposed by the country's interior minister.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz laid out the measures in parliament on Thursday; they would criminalize those caught organizing street protests that "seriously disturb the public peace."

The change to the penal code -- which sets a minimum jail term of two years -- is intended to prevent the sort of violent rioting seen in cities across Spain, notably in Barcelona, where anti-capitalist groups are accused of stirring tensions during last month's general strike.

According to Diaz, ''serious disturbances of public order and intent to organize violent demonstrations through social networking'' would carry the same penalties as being involved in a criminal organization, London's Daily Telegraph reported.The proposed amendment has raised fears the government could stifle further protests and has evoked comparisons with Spain's late fascist dictator, Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Diaz added that the new laws would also give the authorities power to clamp down on the protests themselves, making it "an offense to breach authority using mass active or passive resistance against security forces and to include as a crime of assault any threatening or intimidating behavior."

In a statement following Diaz's announcement, the Interior Ministry said: "New measures are needed to combat the spiral of violence practiced by 'anti-system' groups using urban guerrilla warfare."

The move echoes growing determination among European governments to punish those who use social media and instant messaging to organize and co-ordinate street protests.

In Britain, the Riots Communities and Victims Panel -- set up to investigate last year's civil unrest -- concluded that social media had a large part to play in organizing and inciting violence.

But rather than advocate clamping down on social media, the panel suggested "viral silence may have as many dangers as viral noise."

Well SpainGAF, it seems like your country is getting ready to engage in some good old fashion oppression. But seriously, didn't you guys manage to get over authoritarianism pretty recently? Are all your politicians jacking off to returning to a fascist government?

I just love (hate) that it is literally on par with assault to passively resist authority.
 

Sylver

Banned
This isn't approved yet, I think they want to reform criminal code by the end of year. All those who vote PP now got what they have voted. It's soooooooo sad. I think a kind of riot/protest it's organized soon when some great convention (Global Bank, or some G-?) comes here to Barcelona on May then...
:__( I will have to delete some of my blogs :__(
 

Ikael

Member
Watch and see the law getting passed with ferocious opposition from the left wing, only to be mantained once they reach the goverment (and perhaps further expanded, like the anti piracy laws). Or even better: see it passed with little or no mention trought our press, like any other law aimed to protect our political caste: Spain signing the ACTA, the law forbiding the court procession for mismanaging public funds and a long etc that shows that our politicians are in dire need of a public lynch (and I am only half joking. Hell, make it a quarter joking).
 
I don´t think its bad to arrest people who are talking about making bombs or something or say their going to attack the police. But it obviously will be used to try to stop any kind of protest.

I don´t really like the style of some spanish protests but still.

This kind of stuff is messed up though (In spanish)
http://youtu.be/JW-XdnahJa8?t=8m34s
They cover up the police ID number.

I was in madrid a few years back and I saw some kind of agression but it wasn´t "facist pigs" kind but rather heated sides both going to far. I do think some of the protestors provoke and try to get the police to go to far. And they were nice to me and gave me directions.

Barcelona seems on a different level. Every protest there seems to end up with crap and clames of violence.
 

Sylver

Banned
Well, the current government is lead by his political heirs...

Yes and one them recently retired even sign some death penalties
http://www.unidadcivicaporlarepubli...mo-y-represion/3445-fraga-ni-olvido-ni-perdon
Por motivos políticos, Fraga firmó tres sentencias de muerte. Dos recayeron en los anarquistas Joaquín Delgado -29 años-, y Francisco Granado -27 años-, inocentes que fueron asesinados a garrote vil el 17.VIII.1963 en la cárcel de Carabanchel por los verdugos Vicente López Copete y Antonio López Guerra quienes cobraron por su trabajo un plus de 7.000 pesetas. En ambos casos, el médico forense Leopoldo Escat Oppelt y el capitán Luis Ruiz del Árbol certificaron que los reos habían fallecido por "traumatismo bulbar".

Cuatro meses antes, en un caso bastante más conocido, Fraga también apoyó con su firma el fusilamiento del comunista Julián Grimau (cárcel de Carabanchel; 20.abril.1963)

A estos tres asesinatos, habría que añadir un buen número de delincuentes comunes que sufrieron la misma pena gracias, entre otras, a la humanista pluma del eminente catedrático Fraga Iribarne.

Pero no por ello pensemos que todos los catedráticos españoles son unos monstruos sedientos de sangre –dejemos ese calificativo sólo para los catedráticos franquistas-. Noventa años antes de los asesinatos firmados por Fraga, hubo un catedrático que actuó de muy distinta manera. Recordemos su ejemplo: en 1873, el entonces presidente de la I República Española, el catedrático de Filosofía y Metafísica don Nicolás Salmerón, dimitió de su cargo para no tener que firmar una sentencia de muerte.
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
I don´t think its bad to arrest people who are talking about making bombs or something or say their going to attack the police. But it obviously will be used to try to stop any kind of protest.

I don´t really like the style of some spanish protests but still.

This kind of stuff is messed up though (In spanish)
http://youtu.be/JW-XdnahJa8?t=8m34s
They cover up the police ID number.

I was in madrid a few years back and I saw some kind of agression but it wasn´t "facist pigs" kind but rather heated sides both going to far. I do think some of the protestors provoke and try to get the police to go to far. And they were nice to me and gave me directions.

Barcelona seems on a different level. Every protest there seems to end up with crap and clames of violence.

Barcelona protests tend to turn to shit. Anarchist assholes + heavy handed mossos = shitstorm. There is no other possible outcome.

It is pretty damn telling that Barcelona was the only city with violent incidents during the latest general strike.

Yes and one them recently retired even sign some death penalties
http://www.unidadcivicaporlarepublic...vido-ni-perdon
That article is a bit shit, tho.
 

Dai101

Banned
QUYkm.gif


When we came back in time? I'm from Mexico, but this really makes me mad.
 

pegaso

Neo Member
Holy cow, is GAF celebrating Terrible News for Spain Day or something like that?

This is sad. Rajoy is being three times as awful as I was expecting him to be, and I was expecting some pretty bad shit. He's also getting away with it somehow.
 
Spain is just getting ready for when they have to bend over fully to the ECB and IMF.

Less of those pesky demonstrators to pass the austerity measures.
 
Shoot and kill his brother?

Conned his way into Franco's inner circle, then turned the country back into a Constitutional Monarchy behind the military junta's back.

And then when the military reorganized and tried a counter coup, he told them to suck his royal scepter.
 
Conned his way into Franco's inner circle, then turned the country back into a Constitutional Monarchy behind the military junta's back.

I think that´s giving him a bit too much credit. I wasn´t the one really saying "hey guys were gonna be a democracy now!"

That being said he didn´t stand in the way and helped the Transition a lot.
 
I think that´s giving him a bit too much credit. I wasn´t the one really saying "hey guys were gonna be a democracy now!"

That being said he didn´t stand in the way and helped the Transition a lot.

I think giving legitimacy to the Socialists and then Communists Parties of Spain is a damn ballsy thing to, and telling off the counter coup deserves mention.

Tell me a living European monarch to do more for their country.
 
I think giving legitimacy to the Socialists and then Communists Parties of Spain is a damn ballsy thing to, and telling off the counter coup deserves mention.

Tell me a living European monarch to do more for their country.

That wasn´t the king.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Suárez

I´m not saying that he´s bad and I think he´s probably the most deserving of the current Monarchs in Europe (though i disagree fundamentaly with monarcy).
 
I think giving legitimacy to the Socialists and then Communists Parties of Spain is a damn ballsy thing to, and telling off the counter coup deserves mention.

Tell me a living European monarch to do more for their country.

While not a Monarch, few men have lifted the spirits of a country with him as much as this man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh

Otherwise, since the last of the World War II monarchs are gone not many.
 
Man what is going on in Europe? This, it being illegal to be homeless in Hungary, and Greece craziness.

It makes me glad to live in America.
 
Man what is going on in Europe? This, it being illegal to be homeless in Hungary, and Greece craziness.

It makes me glad to live in America.

It's sort of a like the '30s. Economic depression followed by a sudden rise of populist fascist parties. Although they learned their lessons, so they're a bit more camouflaged these days.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Dude I didn't even know Spain had a king. I knew that like... uh... the UK and Denmark had queens, and that Japan has an Emperor, and that's about it.
 

gabbo

Member
So they're just making it easier to lock up the people who will inevitably protest such a ridiculous law.
 
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