A Belgium court has ruled that there is no reason to return a Spanish rapper to Spain.

Spain had asked Belgium to extradite rapper Jose Miguel Arenas Beltran, better known as Valtonyc, on the grounds that the entertainer had written lyrics that “glorified terrorism, insulted the royal family, and contained threats.”

Valtonyc had received a two-year sentence in Spain because of his lyrics, but fled to Belgium.

Simon Bekaert, the rapper’s lawyer said Monday in Ghent that “the judge has decided there will be no extradition and discarded all three charges.”

Bekaert said the judge ruled “there is no terrorism involved, so there is no question of a crime, according to Belgian law.”

It was not immediately clear if prosecutors would appeal the judge’s decision.

 
…