Spain's New Gag Law Gets Ghostly Protest

Protesters beam in holograms to protest crackdown on protests
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 12, 2015 8:39 AM CDT
Updated Apr 12, 2015 9:03 AM CDT
Spain's New Gag Law Gets Ghostly Protest
A virtual protest has been held outside Spain's parliament, showing projected 'people' marching and chanting, to denounce a contested new security law that critics say stifles freedom.   (YouTube)

Spain is rolling out what RT calls a "draconian" new law that drastically limits the rights of protesters, so protesters came up with a pretty unique way to, well, protest: They beamed in holograms of themselves in front of the building that's home to the lower house of parliament. "Our protest with holograms is ironic," says a rep of Holograms for Freedom, per CNN. "With the restrictions we're suffering on our freedoms of association and peaceful assembly, the last option that will be left to us in the end will be to protest through our holograms."

The so-called "gag" law, set to come into effect in July, is pretty dire: It makes illegal unauthorized protests outside government buildings, insulting cops (that carries a $635 fine), or filming cops so they might be put in danger (a $32,000 fine). RT adds that unauthorized protests outside a range of public buildings carry a $746,000 fine; the law has been likened to a return to Franco-esque policies. “If you are a person you cannot express yourself freely, you can only do that here if you become a hologram,” says a protester in the video. (More hologram stories.)

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