Case against the illustrator of the comic book On és l'Estel-la? is closed
The illustrator Toni Galmés and the publishing house Comanegra received the year 2020 with a lawsuit for "lies, slander, defamation and incitement to hatred" filed by four police unions for the drawings in the book "On és l'Estel-la? ”
In the denunciation, filed in mid-June 2019 by JUPOL Baleares, four police unions (SUP, CEP, SPP y UFP) demanded, among other things, the banning and destruction of the humorous book and a public apology from authors and publishers.
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Police unions demand the banning and destruction of a humorous book on 1-O
In mid-June, representatives of the National Police union, JUPOL Baleares went to the courts of Palma to file a complaint that will lead to a conciliation process as a preliminary step to the filing of a complaint for hate crime and slander for the publication of the comic in which, according to this union, the State Security Forces are attacked for their actions during 1 October 2017 in Catalonia.
First file
On 30 January 2020, the 15th court of Palma accepted the appeal of the publisher Comanegra and shelved one of the open cases "for not being competent".
That same day, the illustrator Toni Galmés testified as a defendant in the 12th court of Palma. The following day, the Spanish Confederation of Police (CEP) stated that the cartoonist's apologies "...", as more than asking for forgiveness "..."no good"rather than asking for forgiveness, he "apportions blame".
Second case filed and end of the story
Yesterday the Mallorcan cartoonist Toni Galmés was acquitted of an alleged hate crime and the case was closed, ending a long process for the illustrator for Toni galmés and the publishing house Comanegra that has lasted two years.
The court ruled that the drawings that appear in the comic are protected by freedom of expression as the intention is humorous. The unions that brought the lawsuit have decided not to appeal the dismissal of the case and it is now final.
Take note, little tyrants, It is freedom of speech
In the six-page order, the magistrate relies, in particular, on the doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Specifically, the judge refers to a judgment that the body issued in May 2018 and endorses the considerations expressed in one of its paragraphs, which determines how under the umbrella of freedom of expression"the most unsavoury criticism and not only inoffensive or indifferent ideas but also those that hurt, offend or are unwelcome" can be accommodated. The European Court of Human Rights has held that "pluralism, tolerance and a spirit of openness, without which there can be no democratic society, require it" Source.
Joan Sala Torrent, head of the publishing house Comanegra thus celebrated the news of the archiving of the second case and the end of this story.
"Two years, two years of coming and going to court, but nobody can take away our right to freedom of expression and publication, we said it, we will not give up, today we have the result. We have neither asked for forgiveness nor have we withdrawn the book, we continue!
It is time to rejoice, but not too much. The denouncers know well that their "work" is already done, which is to continue sowing and spreading the seeds among the creators the discouragement effect among creators.
Humor in troubles, compilation of cases (III)
Cases of cartoonists who have had problems of some importance because of their cartoons or satirical illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, without being cartoonists, have had problems for sharing them.
