The persecution against rapper Valtònyc does not end. The Belgian prosecutor's office has announced today that it will appeal the refusal of the Ghent Court of Appeal to hand over Josep Miquel Arenas, Valtònyc, to the Spanish State. The Court of Cassation of Brussels will hold the hearing next January 11th.
In this case, the Court of Cassation cannot rule on the merits of the case, but will exclusively analyse whether the decision issued by the Ghent court is in accordance with the law. For the time being, the prosecution has not detailed on what grounds it will file the appeal against the non-extradition of the Majorcan singer. Now, the prosecution has five days to present its document, and then the defence will have two days to reply.
The ruling
The three magistrates of the Court of Appeal of Ghent, in Belgium, are forceful in the resolution on the criminal threats for which rapper Valtònyc was sentenced to six months in prison by the Spanish state. "In the Belgian domestic legal system, the aforementioned conduct is not punishable", and, therefore, they do not approve his extradition. Spain’s National Audience court requested the extradition of Mallorcan Josep Miquel Arenas, Valtònyc, in May 2018 for the conviction of three crimes: glorification of terrorism (two years in prison), insults towards the Crown (one year) and criminal threats (six months). The first two were dismissed by Belgian authorities, and now the refusal to hand him over for the third is confirmed.
The court, in eighteen pages, explains that the Spanish state’s court sent a second arrest warrant for Valtònyc to Belgian authorities, for the lyrics in one of his songs: "Jorge Campos deserves an atomic bomb. I'm bringing out the artillery and everything I need. We want all these wild boars to die". Campos is currently a deputy for Vox in the Balearic Parliament.
Campos, current deputy of Vox
It is stated that the aforementioned song appeared on a CD and a video (which included a photo of Jorge Campos) with the song, which was distributed through a YouTube channel. It is also stated that "the ruling by Spain’s National Audience court shows that Jorge Campos is president of Círculo Balear, an anti-Catalan movement, and would have suffered radical attacks from various pro-independence groups in Mallorca with which Valtònyc would have had connections".
However, the Belgian court reasons that "the first judge rightly noted in this regard that the aforementioned acts of verbal threats are not punishable under Belgian law, unconditionally" and adds that "it is not stated in the available documents whether the lyrics of the song were published".