A Spanish rapper due to begin a controversial nine-month jail sentence barricaded himself inside a Catalan university to avoid arrest on Monday. Pablo Hasel, who is known for his radical leftist views, has been convicted for glorifying terrorism, slander and libel after he attacked the monarchy and accused police of killing and torturing immigrants in a string of tweets. The musician, who refused to turn himself in, had been locked inside the campus in Lerida near Barcelona with 'about 20 supporters', the university said. Supporters of Spanish rap singer Pablo Hasel take part in a protest, after Hasel was sentenced to jail time on charges of glorifying terrorism and insulting the crown in Madrid on February 6In a tweet on Monday, Hasel told his followers that he had barricaded himself inside a Catalan university to avoid his arrest. Hasel's case echoes that of another rapper called Valtonyc who fled to Belgium in 2018 after being convicted of similar crimes.

Source: Daily Mail February 15, 2021 14:53 UTC