First victim of Spain’s ‘gag’ law fined for calling police lazy

LESS than a month after Spain’s Citizen Security Law, nicknamed the ‘gag law,’ was introduced, it has been used to fine a young Spanish man who called his local police lazy on Facebook.
The 27-year-old Tenerife man from the town of Guimar, known as Eduardo D, was posting on Facebook and making satirical comments about the local town council on the page of the town’s mayor, Carmen Luisa Dorta. In the comments, according to El Pais, he criticised the council for planning new police facilities that would be bigger than the Guardia Civil’s, and accused local police of doing very little apart from “rescuing pigeons and people trapped in their bathrooms.” In another comment, he described them as a “class of slackers.”
After posting the comments on Wednesday July 22 in the morning, he was surprised to get a knock at the door that same evening, and visited by two police officers who proceeded to present him with an official complaint for “making comments on social media that showed a lack of consideration and respect for Guimar’s local police.” Under the ‘gag’ law police can fine citizens up to €600 for offences.
Eduardo told El Pais that his lawyer was now handling the matter but that he was amazed that his humorous comments were being taken so seriously.