The coalition Defender a quien Defiende published a book about the setbacks in human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Spanish State.
After nearly a year working to support and strengthen the actions and the incidence of groups working against human rights violations, the coalition released a book in response to the criminalization of social movements. It is analyzed from the violent repression to the development of the whole legislative framework that seeks to dismantle the protest for rights and freedoms. “First there were cuts in economic, social and cultural rights and then to silence those who refused and refuse to conform, were promoted repressive measures to dismantle the right to protest”, said the director of the publication and Professor of public international law, David Bondía. The book is divided into eight interdisciplinary texts, which combine theory and practice, centered primarily on abuses that have been materialized and institutionalized by the recent Citizen Security Law, better known as the Gag Law. The work, done collectively, with the participation of media such as the newspapers Diagonal and LaDirecta; institutions such as the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid and the University of Barcelona; and social movements such as Fotomovimiento and Legal Sol, among many other profiles. Losing the fear of protesting Since the adoption of the Gag Law last July 1st, 2015, there are now about 20 sanctions under its legal framework throughout the Spanish territory. Some of them directly linked to the repression of the right to protest as police pressure during the Camping clamp, which for 17 days occupied Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Security and freedom are in this way opposed to justify certain actions intended to cover the cuts that are taking place in economic, social and cultural rights and in civil and political rights. Both from the coalition and from the collective reflection posed by this publication, the goal is the same: to work together, to not keep silent and lose the fear of protesting when is attempted to fundamental rights as freedom of expression, rights of assembly and rights of demonstration.
