Josep Miquel Arenas Beltrán, the often provocative and always political Spanish rapper better known as Valtònyc, faces three and a half years in prison should he return to Spain from a self-imposed exile in Belgium. Though he remains free following a Ghent court’s decision in September 2018 not to extradite him under an international arrest warrant, he’s a convicted criminal in Spain—where last year his rap lyrics were deemed to “exalt terrorism” and “insult the crown” under a 2015 law widely decried for purposefully chilling free-speech.

Valtònyc’s legal saga began in late 2016, when he was first charged by a court on the island of Mallorca for releasing music with lyrics highly critical of the Spanish government and monarchy. Accused of “exalting terrorism” and “insulting the crown,” Valtònyc’s lyrics certainly do not mince words—among the cited offensive phrases were “The king has a date in the town square, with a rope around his neck” and “let them be as frightened as a police officer in the Basque country”. The latter line references attacks by Basque separatist group ETA throughout the past several decades (the group officially disbanded earlier this year).

At the time of Valtònyc’s first trial in early 2017, the rapper spoke out widely against the Spanish justice system, pointing to his clean criminal record and insisting that he does not endorse violence. On the contrary, he said in an interview shortly before being convicted, “rap music is violent, direct, incisive, and provocative… [the object of my music is] social transformation; using rap as a tool to make people aware. It’s all political, but they’re also songs of my culture. I like to provoke reactions in people.” Hailing from the Balearic Islands, which are linked culturally and politically with the Catalonia region, Valtònyc is no stranger to radical politics and a widespread feeling that the Spanish does not represent his people or their interests.

Valtònyc was first convicted in February 2017 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison at that time. The law under which he was convicted, a “public safety law” passed in 2015, limits mass gatherings, protesting, social media comments, and free speech. However, after a lengthy appeals process, his case moved to the Spanish Supreme Court in February 2018 where the initial ruling was quickly upheld.

In May 2018, after finally being ordered to report to prison, Valtònyc tweeted that he would not give in as easily as the courts were demanding. “I’m not going to make it easy for them. Disobedience is legitimate and it’s an obligation when it comes to this fascist state,” he wrote. The next day, he had fled the country for Belgium.

Valtònyc was eventually picked up in Ghent under an international arrest warrant issued by Spain, but the Belgian judge quickly discarded all charges against him, stating: “there is no terrorism involved, so there is no question of a crime according to Belgian law”. The refusal to extradite means Valtònyc remains free for now, though unable to travel back to his country and possibly at risk of further legal complications if he leaves Belgium for another EU country.

Please join The Voice Project in calling on Spain to immediately drop all charges against Valtònyc, whose music must be allowed to address political topics without fear of reprisal.