The question is, if you stick a cream pie to a politician’s face, is it reasonable to expect a 9-year-prison sentence for it? Well the Spanish Public Prosecutor General feels it is, as it is an “assault on authority”.

This form of protest is hardly a new phenomenon and everybody from political leaders to every kind of celebrity could be a target.

This cream-pie ‘attack’ took place upon the Prime Minister of the Regional Government of Navarra at a conference in Toulouse, France. The reason behind the pie-in-the-face was the high-speed train project in Navarra, northern Spain.

Now here’s the crunch, the Spanish national law courts have the authority to try Spanish nationals for illegal acts carried out abroad, but under one condition; that the said act is considered a criminal act in that country. In France, stuffing a cream-pie in somebody’s face is not a criminal act; it is illegal, but it is far from considered criminal.

So why is the Spanish Public Prosecutor holding legal proceedings under the Criminal Law Code and recommending a 9-year prison sentence for an act carried out in France where such an act is not considered ‘criminal?’

Good question.

Many hold the opinion that the legal reforms to the Criminal Law Code being pushed through by the controversial Minister of Justice contains elements to criminalize public acts of protest against the Government and other administrative bodies.

Whatever the case, this trial, which was held yesterday and is pending sentencing, is highly controversial, highly irregular and highly worrying as to where the country is heading under this Government.

The vast majority of people would consider that sticking a cream pie in the face of political leader; somebody democratically elected to that position and deserving the respect that it entails, is not an acceptable form of protest, but the gap between being ‘not acceptable’ and being criminally punishable by nine years’ imprisonment is a yawning chasm.

(News: Spain)