Assemblea Nacional Catalana, Assemblea’s Repressed Persons committee, the Commission for Dignity, and Hasél Campaign Professors have launched an international support campaign for Pablo Hasél on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the rapper’s imprisonment. The organisations have presented an open letter, signed by more than two hundred professors from 95 universities in 25 different countries, calling for the release of the Catalan rapper and proposing him as a candidate for the Sakharov Prize. The Catalan Pen Club, one of the most important international organisations defending freedom of expression and language rights, has also endorsed the initiative.
The letter, which has gained the support of two hundred full professors and university lecturers from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania, has been publicly presented this Friday in Barcelona. On behalf of Assemblea were present its president Lluís Llach, board member Toni Strubell and the coordinator of the Repressed Persons committee, Dani Carulla; the Commission for Dignity was represented by its spokesperson Pilar Rebaque; and Hasél Campaign Professors were led by Professor Henry Ettinghausen. The Anti-Repression Platform of Ponent and Barcelona also took part in the press conference.
The document denounces Pablo Hasél’s imprisonment and questions its grounds: “unjustly imprisoned after a controversial conviction for alleged slander against the Crown and alleged glorification of terrorism.” The letter highlights the reactions triggered by the sentence, “criticised by legal experts in Spain and by human rights organisations around the world, including Amnesty International.” It also notes that the prestigious international music magazine Rolling Stone devoted its cover to the Pablo Hasél case in the spring of 2025.
The letter further explains why Pablo Hasél is considered an appropriate candidate for the Sakharov Prize, an award granted by the European Parliament in recognition of individuals or organisations dedicated to defending human rights and freedom. In this regard, it emphasises two main reasons: his courage and resilience during the five years he has been imprisoned, and his defence of freedom of expression and human rights as an activist from Lleida. Finally, the letter concludes with a call to action addressed to the Spanish and Catalan governments: “We call on the President of the Spanish Government and the President of the Government of Catalonia to take measures to immediately end the imprisonment of Pablo Hasél.”
During his speech, Henry Ettinghausen recalled that the United Nations has stated that Hasél’s alleged offence has no place in the criminal code of any democratic society. The president of Assemblea, Lluís Llach, closed the event with a firm demand: “We demand the release of Pablo Hasél, not as an act of repentance, but as proof that we are a society striving to be civilised.”
Open letter signed by two hundred university professors and lecturers.