Ruling against Spain for violating Otegi's freedom of expression

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on Tuesday announced a ruling against Spain in which it considered that the country violated the freedom of expression of former Batasuna spokesman Arnaldo Otegi, when it condemned him to spend one year in prison for injurious crimes against the King, whom he had named as "responsible for acts of torture".

The ruling, announced by the Human Rights court on Tuesday, orders Spain to pay Otegi 20,000 euros in compensation for moral harm and further 3,000 euros for court costs.

The sentence against Otegi was issued by the Spanish Supreme Court and subsequently endorsed by the Constitutional Court who rejected the appeal for legal protection brought by the defence.

According to a statement issued by the Court, "a term of imprisonment imposed for an offense committed in the area of political discourse is not compatible with freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights."