Josep Miquel Arenas, aka Valtonyc, the Majorcan rapper who was ordered to enter prison no later than today (24 May), is believed to have fled Spain and to be in Belgium.
The Catalan television station, TV3, announced that the rapper had gone to Belgium to avoid starting a three and a half year sentence. This was imposed for the contents of songs which, among other things, glorified ETA terrorism and insulted the crown.
His support group has denied that he has left the country, although it is being reported that he will attend an event in Brussels this morning at the European Parliament. Organised by members of the Greens, it is a conference on freedom of expression. The newspaper, El Nacional, has said that he could meet lawyers representing Catalan independence politicians.
Yesterday, Valtonyc tweeted that he was not going to make his entering prison easy, adding that disobedience is legitimate and an "obligation in this fascist state".
The Guardia Civil and National Police had mounted controls to ensure that he did not fly out of Majorca, but it is being suggested that he left some days ago.