http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20210518-170058-0 https://verfassungsblog.de/a-ghost-that-haunts-european-democracies/ A Ghost that Haunts European Democracies - How lèse-majesté laws across Europe threaten the right to dissent Kurtul, Aytekin Kaan eng 2021-05-18 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 ECHR ECtHR Freedom of Expression lese-majeste right to dissent Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 In Turkey, Spain and Poland, lèse-majesté laws are weaponised against opposition: The conviction and imprisonment of Marxist rapper Pablo Hasél sparked mass protests across Spain, and the 20-year-old Wiktoria K. who shouted “f*** Duda” during last year’s demonstrations and received a guilty verdict on grounds of “insulting the President” in March 2021. The very existence of lèse-majesté laws poses a threat to the right to dissent. It is a vital democratic duty to cast such laws into the dustbin of history.