5. VALTONYC in EXIL

Muziek als Wapen

Part 5 | Valtonyc | Flight from Spain | Music as a Weapon Valtonyc had to flee Spain because of his music. In Belgium he finds exil. Spanish Rapper Valtonyc in the Podcast series "Music as Weapon". He flees in 2018 when he hears that he will be taken to an anti-terrorism prison. He says: “I had to go 500 kilometers from home and was not allowed to have contact with anyone. I thought that I would suffer not only in prison, but especially under the anti-terrorism regime. And that for a few Rap songs, which I made.” His lyrics are cynical, with a wink. Valtonyc is convicted of insulting the Spanish Royal Family, seemingly praising terrorism and death threats in his Raps. He decides to leave and goes to Belgium in order to get his case under international attention. To be able to get a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights. He sees no possibilities in Spain. In Belgium, he hopes for independent justice, which is not guided by political ideology. 'Belgium has a good reputation when it comes to case law.', Valtonyc says. For him it was also important that the politician Puigdemont, just like Valtonyc also a Catalan, had sought his asylum in Belgium. Puigdemonts’ lawyer Master Bekaert is also the lawyer of Valtonyc. In the elections in Spain on Sunday 28 April 2019 Vox won more than 10% of the votes. Vox is one of the right-wing parties in Spanish politics and is an opponent of the Catalan independence movement. It won't matter to Valtonyc. He remains in exil in Belgium. In March 2018, Amnesty International says that a Spanish law "prohibiting the glorification of terrorism" has created a hair-raising environment in which people are afraid to express alternative views or make controversial jokes. In the Freemuse report The State of Artistic Freedom 2019, Spain is in the top ten of the world of captive musicians. There are 14 others besides Valtonyc. https://freemuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/saf-2019-online.pdf May 23, 2018 | In a tweet Valtonyc writes: Josep V. 🎗️ (@valtonyc) 'Mañana es el día. Mañana van a tumbar la puerta de mi casa para meterme en la carcel. Por unas canciones. Mañana España va a hacer el ridículo, una vez más. No se lo voy a poner tan fácil, desobedecer es legítimo y obligación ante este estado fascista. Aquí no se rinde nadie.' Translation: "Tomorrow they will knock down the door or my house to put me in jail," he wrote. “For some songs. Tomorrow Spain is going to make a fool or itself, once more. I'm not going to make it easy for them. Disobedience is legitimate and it's an obligation when it comes to this fascist state. No one's giving up here. " And so Valtonyc fled to Belgium. Listen to the Podcast.