Primavera Sound & Sonar Among 30 Festivals, 70 Concert Venues Adding Rapper Valtonyc After Prison Sentence

Rapper Valtonyc has been added to the roster of 30 music festivals and booked in 70 concert venues in Catalunya in the wake of the rapper's recent prison sentence for insulting the country's royal family. The announcement was made jointly by a wide range of festivals, including Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, Sonar, Cruïlla, Ciutat Flamenco and the Barcelona International Jazz Festival, together with the Concert Hall Association of Catalunya, which encompasses 70 venues, and it is is, at least for now, only symbolic.

The artist from Mallorca, whose given name is Miguel Arenas Beltran, was sentenced on Feb. 20 to three-and-a-half years in prison by the Spanish Supreme Court for insulting the country’s royal family and "inciting terrorism" in his song lyrics.

"Faced with the situation of a flagrant infringement of the right of freedom of expression and before the State's reversal of democracy, putting a singer in prison for his lyrics, the festivals and concert venues in Catalunya want to show our solidarity with Valtonyc and as such include him on our programs," reads a statement issued by the Concert Hall Association, known as ASSAC. The Catalan Academy of Music and the Association Representatives, Promoters and Managers of Catalunya (ARC) have also joined the protest.

This article originally appeared on Billboard.