Over the weekend, a group of activists made history by holding the world’s first-ever hologram protest in Spain. The virtual protest was devised by No Somos Delito (translation: We Are Not Crime), who projected a hologram in front of parliament to protest a law that, in part, bans protest in front of parliament.
According to Engadget, the group asked people around to world to send in text and video and audio clips to give the protesters authentic speech and movement. No Somos Delito created Hologramas por la Libertad (Holograms for Freedom) to explain how the new laws infringe on personal freedoms. As a result, thousands joined in a virtual rally that got global attention.
Hologram activist demonstrate against law prohibiting protests at Spain's Congress http://t.co/PM0JbFzEwQ pic.twitter.com/midUxYuqz7
— Walker Reader (@walkermag) April 13, 2015
The banner the virtual protesters hold reads, “No a la ley morzada,” which translates to “no to the ‘gag law.'”
The “gag law,” formally known as the Citizen Safety Law, is expected to go into effect July 1. It prohibits public demonstrations in front of government buildings — which, the Independent notes, includes hospitals and universities. Fusion reports that the law also “makes taking or distributing ‘unauthorized’ photographs of police a crime punishable with a 30,000 euro fine. All in, the laws would create 45 new infractions, mostly centered on cracking down on dissent.”
Hologram protest in Madrid against the Gag Law. "As we can't protest as free citizens, we protest as free holograms." pic.twitter.com/mjE9j4SBNe
— Giedre P. (@GiedreP) April 10, 2015
