[JURIST] Thousands gathered across Spain on Tuesday to protest Spain’s new public security law that went into effect on Wednesday. The Citizen Security Law [text, in Spanish], labeled as a “gag law” by protesters, sets fines for burning the national flag, protesting outside of parliament buildings, and distributing photographs of police officers that could threaten their operations. The protesters gathered [El País report] in a number of cities, including Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Almeria, Granada and Valencia, and faced fines if they were determined to have been “disturbing the peace.”

In February, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] urged [JURIST report] Spanish authorities to reject the law. Earlier that month, Amnesty International [advocacy website] warned [JURIST report] that separate proposed anti-terrorism measures would violate citizen’s rights. Protesters also gathered to oppose the law [JURIST report] when it was being considered in December.