The Diplomat
The Ghent Court of Appeal yesterday confirmed the initial refusal of Belgian judges not to extradite the Mallorcan rapper Josep Miquel Arenas, known as Valtonyc, who is wanted by the Spanish justice system after being convicted of threats, glorifying terrorism and insulting the Crown.
The rapper’s lawyer, Simon Bekaert, announced the court decision on Twitter, calling it “a good day for music and freedom of expression”, saying: “Victory! After three years of legal proceedings, a diversion to the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Belgian Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeal rules that Valtonyc cannot be extradited”.
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office can appeal this ruling and exhaust the legal route by going to the Court of Cassation, which would study formal issues during the judicial process without going into the merits.
The surrender of the rapper, who fled Spain in June 2018, was already rejected in the first instance. He then jumped to the second instance, a process that has dragged on for more than a year and where the judge in Ghent raised the case of the attacks on the King to the Belgian Constitutional Court.
The magistrate relied on the Belgian law of 1847 that protects the figure of the monarch, but the high court declared it unconstitutional on the grounds that it collides with freedom of expression and “does not meet an urgent social need and is disproportionate to the objective of protecting the reputation of the person of the King”.
This ruling was celebrated as a triumph by Valtonyc’s lawyers, who considered it a boost to his case and pointed out that his situation may end up driving legal changes in the Belgian legal system.
Throughout the process, Valtonyc’s defence has been confident that according to European standards there is no margin for his client to be handed over to Spain.
