22/03/2021 (Agence Europe) – In a letter to the Spanish Minister of Justice dated 11 March and made public on Monday, Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, calls on the authorities to revise the Criminal Code in order to strengthen the guarantees of freedom of expression (Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights). The Commissioner notes that an increasing number of convictions have been handed down to artists and social network activists for statements that are considered to insult the Crown or amount to an apology for terrorism. In this regard, she notes the potential danger of using “catch-all labels” and “broad and insufficiently defined offences” in counter-terrorism laws, which may lead to unnecessary or disproportionate restrictions on the right to freedom of expression. Link to the letter: https://bit.ly/3snHDY1 (VL)