Brussels (dpa) – A rapper convicted in Spain for glorifying terrorism may face extradition from Belgium after the country’s highest court on Tuesday part overturned a ruling blocking his expulsion, the Belga news agency reported.
Rapper Valtonyc, whose real name is Josep Miquel Arenas, was sentenced in February 2018 to a three-and-a-half-year term for the glorification of terrorism and insulting the Spanish monarchy in his lyrics, among other things.
Arenas fled to Belgium in May 2018 where he has resisted extradition since. A court in Ghent previously ruled in his favour that he should not be extradited for these actions.
Belgium’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has now partially overruled this decision with regards to the charges of insulting Spain’s royal family. As a result, the court in Ghent must make another ruling on his extradition.
The European Court of Justice has previously dealt with the case.
At the time of Valtonyc’s prosecution, Spain’s maximum penalty for his offences was set below the three-year threshold that compels EU countries to execute a European Arrest Warrant regardless of whether it is a crime in their own country.
The ECJ in 2020 dismissed Spain’s argument that Valtonyc should be handed over automatically by Belgium due to the maximum sentence for crimes linked to his provocative lyrics.
The court found Belgium had a duty to scrutinize whether the acts for which Valtonyc was convicted are also crimes in Belgium, and whether they are severe enough to justify executing the warrant.
The judges said however this does not mean that the request will ultimately be refused.