Spanish Flag A joke with the national flag leads to a court hearing and a possible trial in Madrid
In a joke on the Spanish TV show El Intermedio comedian Dani Mateo blew his nose on the Spanish flag. What followed led to Mateo having to appear in front of a Judge and might lead to a fine or worse, jail time.
A labor union for the national Police Force, Alternativa Sindical de Policía, filed a complained which was then accepted by a judge. The laws in question, which Mateo allegedly broke, are Article 543 and Article 510 of the Spanish criminal code, offence or public affront to the symbols of Spain and hate crime respectively. A conviction of hate crimes could carry a possible sentence of 4 years of jail time.
El Pais: El Intermedio controversy
The initial court hearing, during which Mateo remained silent, only latest 10 minutes and it is anything but certain that the procedures will lead to a conviction in the end, however the case is just the latest in a string of similar incidence in recent time.
In September a court ruled that there was enough evidence to open a trial actor Willy Toledo for offending religious sentiment. Toledo had posted profanity about god and the Virgin Mary. The law in question, Article 525 of the Spanish Criminal Code, makes it an crime, punishable by a fine, to offend the feelings of the members of a religious confession by ‘publicly disparaging their dogmas, beliefs, rites or ceremonies’.