Original article (in Albanian) was published on 25/03/2026; Author: Patris Pustina
On social media, including Albanian-speaking platforms, a claim is circulating that Spain will sentence people to 5 years in prison for insulting the Muslim faith, accompanied by an alleged quote from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
However, no evidence, source, or reference is provided to support this claim.
There is no proof of any speech or public statement by Sanchez announcing such a decision. Similarly, there are no reports of any new Spanish law that would punish with five years in prison anyone who insults Islam or its prophet Muhammad. Neither “Muhammad,” “Mahoma” (a Spanish variant of the name of the Prophet Muhammad), nor “Islam” are mentioned in the latest version of the Spanish Criminal Code, which would have included such a law if it existed.
In the current Spanish Penal Code, Article 510, updated in 2022, stipulates that “those who encourage, promote, or publicly incite hatred, hostility, discrimination, or violence against a group, a part of it, or a specific individual due to their affiliation” for various reasons, including those “related to religion,” shall be punished with 1–4 years of imprisonment.
Individuals who “produce, create, or possess with the intent to distribute” material that “is capable of inciting, promoting, or encouraging, directly or indirectly, hatred, hostility, discrimination, or violence against a group” may also face the same penalty, according to Section 1.
Section 2 of Article 510 provides for up to 2 years of imprisonment and a fine for individuals who “damage the dignity of persons through acts that involve humiliation, contempt, or discredit” of the various groups defined in Section 1, which included religious groups.
The penalty for the offenses defined in Section 2 may be increased to align with the punishment of one to four years of imprisonment and a fine that courts imposed for the offenses in Section 1 if the Section 2 offense promoted or fostered “a climate of violence, hostility, hatred, or discrimination against the aforementioned groups.” Article 510 does not explicitly mention Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
