Spain’s new Gag Law

[robbo203]

Spain's new wide-ranging  "gag law", cynically concocted on the pretext of enhancing the "security" of the public,  has just come into effect this month.  It is a pretty appalling peice of legislation by any standards and marks a significant erosion of what little democratic rights Spanish workers have. I cannot imagine it surviving into the next parliament unamended, though the scummy PSOE Party should it come into power to replace the corruption-riddled PP – an outcome that is by no means certain – can be relied upon to use some aspects of this law for its own purposes

 

Below are the main provisions of the "Ley Mordaza":

 

http://www.thelocal.es/20150701/the-ten-most-repressive-aspects-of-spains-new-gag-law

 

Its many detractors complain that the new "gag law" introduced today harks back to the repressive days of the Franco regime. Here are a list of its most controversial points.

 

1) Fines for protesting An Femen activist being apprehended at Barcelona's recent technology trade fair. Under the new law, anyone who organizes or takes part in an "unauthorized protest" could be fined between €30,000 and €600,000 if the protest takes part near institutions such as the Spanish parliament.

 

2) Distrupting public events Disrupting events such as public speeches, sports events or religious ceremonies could face fines of between €600 and €300,000.

 

3) Botellón The Spanish tradition of getting together with mates for outdoor drinking sessions looks to be officially over – drinking in public will be hit with fines of €600 under the new law. And teenagers won’t escape – Parents will be held responsible for the payment of their offsprings' fines.

 

4) Social media activism Using Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to call on people to protest will be fined under the new law, an attempt to put paid to the spontaneous protests that have proved very powerful in building the indignado movement.

 

5) Photographing police  People will be fined for taking unauthorized photographs of the police, a measure introduced with the argument that being publically identified could put officers and their families in danger.

 

6) Smoking weed It puts an end to the laissez faire attitude that has seen Spain become a nation with one of the largest potsmoking populations in Europe. But from now on lighting up a joint in bars or on public transport could result in a fine of between €600 and €30,000.

 

7) Leaving furniture in the street It is a tradition that has existed in Spain long before the current upcycling trend but from now on dumping unwanted furniture in the street could come with a penalty. Those caught obstructing streets with old furniture, cars or other unwanted items will be fined.

 

Trying to stop an eviction  People trying to stop an eviction from taking place could be fined between €600 and €300,000. The number of evictions in Spain has skyrocketed since the beginning of the economic crisis. New Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau (pictured above) has been a famous anti-eviction activist.

 

9) Not having your ID Spaniards who are asked to show their ID card and do not have it on their person could be in trouble under the new law. If they cannot immediately locate it at home and have failed to report it missing, they are liable to be fined.

 

10) Disrepecting a police officer Showing a "lack of respect" to those in uniform or failing to assist security forces in the prevention of public disturbances could result in an individual fine of between €600 and €30,000

[steve colborn]

Lovely, quite Orwellian in depth and scope. I can see UK governments taking heed of this kind of development.

[ALB]

robbo203 wrote:

9) Not having your ID Spaniards who are asked to show their ID card and do not have it on their person could be in trouble under the new law. If they cannot immediately locate it at home and have failed to report it missing, they are liable to be fined.

When i lived and worked in Belgium that had long been the law there (I remember seeing Marx's in the Marx museum in Trier in the name of "Dr. Ch. Marx") and I never went out without my ID card. I'm surprised that this didn't already exist in Spain but then Spain wasn't conquered long enough by Napoleon. ID cards are of course a step towards a police state (in Belgium you also have to register with the police every time you move house). It's significant that it was the last Labour government wanted to bring them in here in the UK.

[james19]

An interent football site closed, because it 'streamed'  live matches from Spain, was faced with paying large fines, because its activities,  have been deemed 'illegal'.  

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