To boo the King is protected by freedom of expression, according to judge Santiago Pedraz, who has said it was not a crime the boo against the head of Basque and Catalan state, something that was promoted during the King Cup final soccer game last May 13, in Valencia.
This decision was materialized by the Court, directed by Santiago Pedraz, who did not admit a complaint that for these facts was presented by Denaes Foundation.
The complaint was accusing of crimes against the King the persons in charge of Esait (organization that claims a soccer selection in Basque Country) and of Catalunya Acció (entity that promotes the same in Catalonia).
Denaes was accusing these associations of having incurred into hate crimes, on having promoted the whistle to the national anthem, crimes for which they could be given up to five years of jail.
Nevertheless, the Court rests on the criterion of the district attorney to support that the facts denounced “cannot be constitutive of crime”.
The court affirms that “the whistling carried out during the arrival of the King, during the interpretation of the national anthem, as well as the banners with the motto ‘Good bye Spain’ are protected by the freedom of expression, and it cannot be considered to be slanderous or insulting, much less that they support national hate or outrage to the Nation”.
For this reason, the judge understands that the behavior registered during the final of Cup on May 13th does not “deserve penal reproach, bearing also in mind the principle of minimal intervention”.
