Spanish rapper rejects imprisonment to draw focus on gag law

Rapper Pablo Hasel sits inside the University of Lleida (Joan Mateu/AP)

A rapper in Spain and dozens of his supporters have locked themselves inside a university building in the artist’s latest attempt to avoid a prison sentence for insulting the country’s monarchy and praising terrorism.

The case of Pablo Hasel, 32, has drawn increasing attention in Spain and has been linked to the government’s sudden announcement to change a national law that is deemed to curtail freedom of expression.