Spanish rapper Valtonyc, who fled his country for Belgium after a conviction for advocating terrorism, was convicted Tuesday in another case for “threat” against the police, a Spanish court informed. He was accused of having called for “killing a fucking civil guard” during a concert in 2018. Several videos where he was heard making these remarks were broadcast by Spanish media. Jose Miguel Arenas Beltran, known under the stage name Valtonyc, was sentenced to two years in prison for “threatening crimes”, a spokesperson for a court in Seville told AFP. This conviction was the subject of an agreement between the 29-year-old rapper, the Spanish prosecutor’s office and the Unified Association of the Civil Guard (AUGC), which had filed a complaint in this case. The prosecution and the association did not oppose the rapper’s request not to be incarcerated. But the decision now rests with the judge, said the court spokesperson.
Valtonyc had already been sentenced in February 2018 to three and a half years in prison by the Spanish courts for having advocated terrorism, insulted the crown and uttered threats in his texts, facts dating back to 2012 and 2013. To escape prison, the rapper then fled to Belgium, which refused to extradite him, on the grounds that the incriminations held by the Spanish justice system had no equivalent in Belgian law. This affair sparked intense controversy. Human rights organizations like Amnesty International said his rights to free expression had been violated. The rapper was finally able to return to Spain at the end of October because the sentence handed down against him had expired, due to the statute of limitations, according to his lawyers. On the other hand, the facts for which he was convicted on Tuesday were not prescribed.