Spain – Thousands of people have gathered in several Spanish cities to protest against a new ‘Gag Law’ that sets hefty fines for offences such as photographing the police, peaceful disobedience and demonstrating without a permit or outside parliament buildings, banks or strategic installations. The largest protests were in Barcelona, Bilbao and Madrid; others were held in cities including Almeria, Granada and Valencia.
Bravo los compañeros fotógrafos contra Ley Mordaza #ALaCalle20D pic.twitter.com/tCS7cxIc80
— Jorge MMC (@Tanotown) December 20, 2014
Some of the most controversial aspects of the Ley Mordaza ‘Gag Law’ include:
1. Photographing or recording police – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
2. Peaceful disobedience to authority – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
3. Occupying banks as means of protest – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
4. Not formalizing a protest – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
5. For carrying out assemblies or meetings in public spaces – 100 to 600€ fine.
6. For impeding or stopping an eviction – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
7. For presence at an occupied space (not only social centers but also houses occupied by evicted families) – 100 to 600€ fine.
8. Police black lists for protesters, activists and alternative press have been legalized.
9. Meeting or gathering in front of Congress – 600 to 30.000€ fine.
10. Appealing the fines in court requires the payment of judicial costs, whose amount depends on the fine.
11. It allows random identity checks, allowing for racial profiling of immigrants and minorities.
12. Police can now carry out raids at their discretion, without the need for “order” to have been disrupted.
13. External bodily searches are also now allowed at police discretion.
14. The government can prohibit any protest at will, if it feels “order” will be disrupted.
15. Any ill-defined “critical infrastructure” is now considered a forbidden zone for public gatherings if it might affect their functioning.
16. There are also fines for people who climb buildings and monuments without permission. (This has been a common method of protest from organizations like Greenpeace.)
