A court in the southern Spanish city of Seville has put a new spin on the classic classroom punishment of writing out lines by ordering a businessman found guilty of defamation to tweet his court sentence every day for the next 30 days.

The case, which came to light this week, dates back to 2013, when Rubén Sánchez, a spokesman for the Spanish consumer rights group Facua, launched a legal challenge against Luis Pineda, who runs a rival consumer rights organisation, over hundreds of defamatory tweets. Sánchez and his legal team argued that Pineda had spent the previous two years using Twitter to launch baseless accusations of corruption, theft and fiscal fraud against Sánchez.

A judge in Seville sided with Sánchez last year, writing in his ruling that Pineda had used Twitter to publish “humiliating and insulting expressions and remarks” about Sánchez. The tweets had “evidently harmed his honour” and demonstrated “a clear sign of intent to attack the honour of others”, said the judge.

Just as the defamatory tweets had been accessible to everyone on Twitter, the judge ruled that the sentence must also be as readily accessible. Acting on a suggestion from Sánchez’s legal team, the judge ordered Pineda to tweet the sentence once a day for 30 days, from the same Twitter handle used to defame Sánchez.

The sentence stipulates that the tweet must be sent during Twitter’s peak hours in Spain, defined as between 9am-2pm and 5pm-10pm. Pineda was also ordered to erase 57 tweets deemed defamatory by the court and pay €4,000 (£2,940) in damages to Sánchez.

The four-paragraph sentence, which includes the court’s ruling that Pineda defamed Sánchez as well as the punitive actions ordered by the court, far exceeds Twitter’s 140-character limit. In an attempt to pre-empt any excuses, the judge ruled Pineda must carry out the sentence using a “tool created to increase the number of permitted characters”.

The pioneering sentence was ratified last week by a provincial court in Seville. Shortly after, Pineda was asked on Twitter when he intended to begin his 30 days of tweets. His answer was brief: “Never”.



Earlier he had signalled his intention to appeal against the ruling, tweeting:“Celebrating a judicial victory with a sentence that can be appealed is like celebrating a wedding during the engagement.”

In 2013, another judge in Seville made headlines with an equally creative sentence that also conjured up childhood memories; ordering a divorcing couple to settle a property dispute by splitting their 250 sq metre apartment down the middle. While the ruling didn’t specify if this was to be done through erecting new walls or laying tape across the floor, the judge ruled that the arrangement was the lesser of the two evils, given the pair’s financial situation.