The National Court condemns a Twitter user for tweeting against the Spanish monarchy

The National Court sentences Albert Baiges to pay a fine of 720 euros for the crime of lèse majesté. Baiges had tweeted in 2020: ‘Seriously. Let’s cut this son of a bitch’s throat, we’re taking too long. #crowning’ which the police contextualises within the framework of the King of Spain’s speech during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The court considers that the tweet is not protected by its nature as a criticism nor by the user’s right to freedom of expression since ‘to show an anti-monarchical conviction it is not necessary to insult’ or carry out ‘a public invitation to cut someone’s throat.’ The sentence also mentions other tweets by Baiges against the Spanish monarchy, the Spanish State and the State Security Forces and Corps, and other tweets recalling the death of two members of ETA. The judicial process begins as a result of Operation Krona, an operation initiated by the General Information Office of the National Police Force. In the report of the Operation, the police begin an investigation where they highlight that Baiges also retweets or tweets messages from Arran, CUP, Endavant or Alerta Solidària. In July, the National High Court will dismiss the appeal against the judgment.