Sentancing begins in Basque 18/98 trial

international | crime and justice | other press

Wednesday December 19, 2007 15:00

by funderland on crack - (extreme)...funderland on spliff (manageable)

46 of 52 of the individuals who have faced trial this last year for links to ETA have received sentances today totaling 527 years in prison. The trial saw leaders of groups engaged in media support & internalisation of support for the Basque armed struggle independence tradition sit together in the dock in a process described by some as a "macro-trial". In the statement read to the court at sentancing the presiding judge Angela Murillo commented ......"KAS and EKIN are "much more than satellite organizations"; KAS "was ETA's media organization" and "EKIN is not any other thing than KAS in an apparent legal disguise..."

from Basque TV news (english version)

....."A Spanish judge said on Wednesday KAS and EKIN are ETA's the heart of the armed Basque group ETA. Spain's National Court sentenced 46 people to jail terms totaling more than 500 years for links to ETA via a network of social and political groups. The sentence reading was interrupted when more than 20 of the accused, who were seated in a bulletproof chamber in the court, stood up with clenched fists and began singing a Basque independence song. After repeatedly ordering them to stay quiet, Judge Angela Murillo told police to remove them from court before continuing with the reading of the sentence. Murillo said the trial had shown that the youth social group EKIN, and its predecessor KAS, were an integral part of ETA. KAS and EKIN are "much more than satellite organizations"; KAS "was ETA's media organization" and "EKIN is not any other thing than KAS in an apparent legal disguise", the sentence said. The case stemmed from an eight-year inquiry by Baltasar Garzon, Spain's leading anti-terror investigator. Garzon alleged that ETA was not just made up of armed commandos but also had support through political, financial and media organizations. The defendants were accused of belonging to these groups, some of which have been outlawed. The organizations, such as banned youth groups called Ekin, Orain, Xaki and Fundación Joxemi Zumalabe engaged in activities ranging from fund-raising and helping ETA plan attacks to organizing street violence by ETA supporters, Garzon has charged......"

http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_79941/politics/VERDICT...-are/

Forty-six of the 18/98 defendants to get 527 years in prison

Old news = Background (the decision was made last January but not formalised till today)

Forty-six Basque militants have been convicted of aiding the armed Basque group ETA through a network of social and political organizations. The 46 were among 56 people who went on trial in November 2005 and were out on bail after it ended in March of this year. The National Court decided (12/01/2007) to convict 46 of the defendants, although it would not formally read out the verdicts until some time after Dec. 10. (today is Dec 19) Due to the risk of them trying to flee Spain, the court ordered police to put them under detention before the convictions were announced, a court official said on ground rules barring publication of her name. According to the same sources, the defendants were being sentenced to 527 years and 6 months in prison

The case stemmed from an eight-year inquiry by Baltasar Garzon, Spain's leading anti-terror investigator. Garzon alleged that ETA was not just made up of armed commandos but also had support through political, financial and media organizations. The defendants were accused of belonging to these groups, some of which have been outlawed.

The organizations, such as banned youth groups called Ekin, Orain, Xaki and Fundación Joxemi Zumalabe engaged in activities ranging from fund-raising and helping ETA plan attacks to organizing street violence by ETA supporters, Garzon has charged. Fourteen of defendants convicted of being leaders of a terrorist group and will be sentenced to spend between 12 and 18 years in prison. Other 17 convicted of being members of a terrorist group and sentenced to spend between 11 and 18 years in prison. Thirteen convicted of collaboration with an armed band and sentenced to spend between 9 and 13 years in prison. The remaining two sentenced to 4 years in prison.

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Massive support for the sentenced activists

by Irish Basque Committees

Thu Dec 20, 2007 15:35

irishbasques at hotmail dot com

Today more than 100 very well known Basque political, social and trade union activists, representing the majority of the Basque people, asked for the inmediate release of the 47 people sentenced to long prison terms this week for their work in favour of the Basque Country's rights.

Most of them got between 10 and 24 years in prison for their public and peaceful work. All of them are well known, respected and high profile members of different community and grassroot groups. Among them there are university lecturers, journalists, writers, trade unionists, environmentalists, lawyers, language activists, intellectuals...

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the last few days in the Basque Country to protest against this new Spanish attack on civil and political rights.

Basque Government denounces "ideas are being imprisoned"

by funderland on candy with additives, colourings & - anti-oxidants!!!

Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:06

..."Justice councilor Joseba Azkarraga, acting as a spokesman for the Basque Government, said the sentence of the 18/98 trial is a "twisted" interpretation of the law. Justice Councilor Joseba Azkarraga said, acting as a spokesman for the Basque Government, the sentence of the 18/98 trial against a network of Basque left-wing social and political groups means that "ideas are being imprisoned.
"It is a "twisted" interpretation of the law that leads to deprive unfairly some citizens of their freedom, Azkarraga added. In an official statement read the day after the reading of the 18/98 sentence that convicts 47 people to prison terms ranging from two to 24 years, Azkarraga said it is an "offence of opinion" and added it is a "political reading" to say everything is "ETA".......

:- http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_80075/politics/1898-OF...deas/

_____________________________

as ZP the PM who deserves to lose the next election for not knowing the price of a cup of a coffee or the worth of a cup of tea announces the General Election date in the Spanish state for March 9th 2008, Basque TV news (EITB) publishes an opinion poll :-

".... 60% of citizens of Basque Community, against banning parties - They are against the banning of Basque leftist parties EHAK and ANV, opposite to that, 20% would support it. On the other hand, violence is still the main problem of those polled. According to the Basque socio-meter, almost 60% of those polled say they are against the banning of Basque leftist parties EHAK and ANV and 20% of the citizens would support that measure. Half of the citizens of the Basque Community are also against the decision to imprison the members of outlawed leftist party Batasuna. Basque armed group ETA’s terrorist attacks made the Spanish Government to argue again about the necessity to outlaw ANV and EHAK, because they have the same ideas as the already outlawed Basque party Bastasuna, But public opinion opposes this kind of initiatives. Some years ago, the majority of the Basques opposed the banning of Batasuna and now they do the same with the parties mentioned above. Almost 6 out of 10 of those polled are against the banning of ANV and EHAK and that opinion is almost unanimous among nationalists (82%). Non-nationalists are more divided: only a third of them say they are against it. Opposite to that, a fifth of the citizens of the Basque Community would support the banning of those two political parties.

Violence, the main preoccupation

Violence is again the main preoccupation of the citizens due to the end of cease-fire and ETA’s terrorist attacks. Apart from violence, housing and unemployment are the most mentioned problems of the Basque community. Almost the half of the citizens of the Basque Community support Basque premier’s proposal to call for a referendum in 2008 in order to ask the citizens whether they support or not self-determination right. A third of those polled would not support that referendum.

http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_80097/politics/BASQUE-...inst/

% you'll have your cup of coffee .:.

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Sentancing begins in Basque 18/98 trial

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