Spain’s notorious ‘gag law’ will be challenged by a group of journalists who are taking it to the European Court of Human Rights this week
The security legislation, enhanced just this year by the governing conservative People’s Party, restricts the right to assembly and to freedom of expression.
It introduced stricter guidelines on when and where protests can take place, fines of as much as €600 for “disrespecting a police officer”, and as high as €600,000 for unapproved demonstrations near sensitive sites.
Fines of up to €30,000 may be set for disseminating images of police officers that “would endanger their safety or that of protected areas or put the success of an operation at risk”.
Parallel lawsuits are being brought by three groups of journalists representing media across Spain. They argue that the law promotes self-censorship and allows for diminished accountability of police forces.
When images were published earlier this year of two police officers standing with people outside a bar celebrating the San Fermin festival, the government sent the news site a letter telling it to avoid “such incidents”. The site was further warned of a possible fine between €601 and €30,000 as stipulated by the law.
One of the lawyers involved in the lawsuits, Diego Boza, said: “The image is completely harmless, the police officers aren’t identifiable. But they are demanding that they censure future publications.”
“They are limiting the right to communicate information, in that police acts can’t be published even when the subjects aren’t identified,” said Boza.
Although it will take some time before the court decides whether to hear the case, filing the lawsuits was timed to coincide with the country’s general election on Sunday.
All the main parties running against the incumbent People’s Party have said they would repeal the law if voted in.
