The imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasél has caused international controversy and outrage. Amid the pandemic, Spanish youths have been in the streets for eight days protesting and clashing with police.

Artists from all over the world have been quick to show solidarity with the rapper, who has been imprisoned for glorifying terrorism, insulting the Spanish Crown and state institutions.

In Mexico, a collective of rappers has published a statement signed by 16 artists in support of Hasél.

"We want to show our firm rejection for the imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasél, sentenced to deprivation of liberty and jail for his lyrics critical of the monarchy and state institutions. No artist can be repressed for the content of his songs," reads the statement.

The collective includes artists such as the vocalist of the band Maldita Vecindad, Roco Pachucote, and Miguel Angel Suarez, nicknamed "Rumec Tecuhtli" and General Secretary of the International Rap Union.

The musicians claim that Hasél's imprisonment poses "a serious threat to other musicians who denounce actions by the authorities" and all those who are considered "political dissidents."

"We are outraged to see fellow musicians and rappers persecuted and imprisoned for their lyrics," they wrote.

The artists, in addition to showing support for Hasél, demanded his freedom and claimed "the full right to ideological freedom, freedom of expression and artistic creation for artists in Spain, Mexico and around the world."

In Colombia, the rapper known as Resistencia Desarmada, leader of the project ‘Noticias Rapeadas,' where he narrates the most relevant political events in the country, has sent a rap in support of the Catalan rapper, demanding justice for Hasél and for the people imprisoned for raising their voice for social justice.

With Hasel, there are now 15 artists prosecuted and imprisoned in Spain, not including Valtonyc, who fled to Switzerland to avoid jail.

What will happen to freedom of speech?