Who is Pablo Hasel, the rapper who has shaken Spanish monarchy

Protests have been going on at various locations in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region, following the dramatic arrest of Pablo Hasel on Tuesday. A situation of unrest has been presiding over the nation ever since the rapper refused to surrender himself despite his conviction in a case against him for making derogatory comments about the Spanish monarchy.

Pablo Hasel, real name Pablo Rivadulla Duro, is a Catalan rapper also known for his extensive support to left-wing politics and Catalan independence. He has been convicted of praising banned groups and terrorism on a number of occasions in the past, but has recently prompted a debate on freedom of speech in Spain after he was arrested for insulting the Spanish royal family.

The 32-year-old was first arrested and was bailed out in 2011 for a song titled "Democracia su P*ta Madre" in which he praised "Camarada Arenas", a convicted member of the GRAPO, an illegal organisation seeking to overthrow the Spanish government.

In April 2014, he was given a two-year prison sentence for ten songs in praise of GRAPO, and two other similar organisations- the Red Army Faction and Terra Lliure. The sentence was suspended for three years in September 2019, on the condition that he does not repeat the offense.

In another incident in 2014, he was arrested for being part of a group that attacked another believing it to be linked to the far-right Platform for Catalonia. Hasel sparked another controversy two years later after he pushed and sprayed washing-up liquid at a TV3 journalist, receiving six months in prison and a fine of €12,150 in June 2020. In the same month, he received a 2​ 1⁄2-year sentence and €2,500 fine for another assault and obstruction of justice he committed in 2017, namely the beating of a witness in the trial of a policeman who was eventually acquitted of assaulting a minor.

In March 2018, he was sentenced to two years in prison for praising terrorism and insulting former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, who went into self-exile last year due to corruption allegations surrounding him. In early 2021, he was asked to voluntarily enter prison to serve a nine-month sentence for this conviction, but he publicly refused this order, which has created the recent turmoil in the nation.

He was eventually arrested this Tuesday after a two-hour stand-off at the University of Lleida near Barcelona, where he had barricaded himself since Monday, after his deadline to turn himself over in the free speech case expired last Friday. While being arrested, a defiant Hasel shouted: "You will never defeat us! You will never overcome us, we will resist until we are victorious," reports CNN.

Protesters have taken to the streets in Barcelona and Girona demanding Hasel's release, while police are struggling to handle the mobs, some of which have turned violent. Hasel's freedom has also been supported by Amnesty International and a letter signed by 300 Spanish artists including Pedro Almodóvar and Javier Bardem.

A total of 33 people have been injured in the ongoing protests, while nearly 43 people have been arrested.