Insults Offenses
Criminal defense and advice regarding crimes against personal dignity and reputation.
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Insults Offenses
Criminal defense and advice regarding crimes against personal dignity and reputation.
Crimes Against Honour in Spain: Defamation, Slander and Insult — Defence Guide
Crimes against honour — calumny (false attribution of a crime) and insult (discrediting expressions) — are regulated in Articles 205-216 of the Criminal Code. They are private-prosecution offences, meaning the victim must file the complaint and sustain the prosecution. The balance between honour and freedom of expression is the central battleground in these cases.
Penalty Table: Honour Crimes
| Offence | Article | Description | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calumny (public) | Art. 206 | Falsely accusing someone of a crime via public media | Fine 6-24 months |
| Calumny (private) | Art. 205 | Falsely accusing privately | Fine 6-12 months |
| Serious insult (public) | Art. 209 | Clearly discrediting statements via public media | Fine 6-14 months |
| Serious insult (private) | Art. 208 | Clearly discrediting private statements | Fine 3-7 months |
| Disclosure of intimate images (Art. 197.7) | Art. 197.7 | Non-consensual sharing of intimate images | 3 months – 1 year |
Key Defence Strategies
Freedom of Expression and Truth Exception
Calumny is excluded if the attributed crime is proven to be true (exceptio veritatis Art. 207). For insults, the defence of truth only applies if the offended party is a public authority or holds public office.
Opinion vs Attribution of Facts
Only attributions of concrete, specific and verifiable facts can constitute calumny or insult. Value judgments, criticism and opinions — even harsh ones — are covered by freedom of expression. The key distinction is between fact and opinion.
Legitimate Criticism of Public Figures
Politicians, artists and others in public life must tolerate a higher degree of criticism. Statements made in the context of political or democratic debate cannot be prosecuted unless manifestly gratuitous and unrelated to public activity.
Anonymous Authorship Challenge
If the author of online posts cannot be positively identified as the accused, the attribution of authorship must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. IP addresses alone may be insufficient if shared connections are involved.
Key Case Law
The Constitutional Court reaffirms that freedom of expression does not protect statements that are merely offensive and lack any connection to matters of general interest. Gratuitous insults on social media do not fall within the protected area of Arts. 20.1.a and 20.1.d CE.
The threshold between protected criticism and criminal insult requires assessing: (1) whether the target is a public or private figure, (2) whether the statement relates to their public activity, and (3) whether the expression, even if offensive, has informational value.
The Court clarifies that Art. 197.7 CP requires that the images were obtained with the victim's consent (e.g., within a relationship) and that disclosure was without consent. Images obtained covertly may constitute a different offence (Art. 197.1 CP).
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