Man jailed for joking on Twitter about killing Spanish king Felipe VI

Vicente Egurcegui Ortiz could have faced two years in jail

King Felipe VI has been on the throne for almost two years (EPA)

A man who joked on Twitter about killing the king of Spain has been jailed for 18 months.

Vicente Egurcegui Ortiz was sentenced on Wednesday for charges of inciting terrorism after publishing a series of tweets about the monarch, Felipe VI.

The maximum time he could have served was up to two years in jail. He has also been disqualified from using social media for seven years.

Ortiz had tweeted “the only Mercedes I want to see the King in is this one”, along with a picture of a hearse in May 2014.

He also posted a video on Twitter of American president John F Kennedy’s assassination, where he wrote: “Letizia could be the new Jacqueline Kennedy,” referring to the King Felipe VI’s wife, Queen Letizia.

Prior to the hearing Carmen Monfort, the public prosecutor, said Ortiz had incited terrorism in a “continuous and habitual” manner and suggested Ortiz should receive the maximum punishment.

Ortiz also published images and videos praising members from Basque terror group, Eta, as well as mocking some of the group’s victims, including Luis Carrere Blanco who was murdered by the group in 1973.

The terror group formed in 1959 and have been held responsible for killing more than 800 people.

King Felipe has been on the throne since June 2014, following the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos 1.

Ortiz’s tweets have since been deleted from Twitter.