National Court sentences Zulueta and three other lawyers to prison terms ranging from 3 to 7 years

The National Court has convicted the lawyer Arantxa Zulueta to 7 years and 6 months in prison and three other lawyers to sentences of 3 to 4 years in prison charged with “forming the legal front of ETA, halbokawhose main purpose was to control ETA prisoners”.

In its 549 page sentence, the fourth part of the National Court Criminal Court acquitted three other defendants. The verdict, presented by Judge Juan Francisco Martel, liberates from responsibility and speaks Julen Zelarain, Saioa Agirre and Nerea Redondo. free

The court has convicted Arantxa Zulueta, for whom the prosecutor has demanded 19 years in prison, for the crime of integration into a terrorist organization (4 years in prison) and surrendering weapons and explosives (3 years and 6 months).

He has also been sentenced to 4 years in prison. Jon Enparantzawho was confronted with a 12-year-old petition, as well as Naia Zurriarain (3 years and 6 months) already Iker Sarriegic (3 years and a day) as perpetrators of a crime of integration into a terrorist organization. The court appreciated the mitigation “highly qualified of unnecessary delays”.

Thus, the court rejects the defense’s argument that the defendant’s activity never transferred the jurisdiction derived from their activities as lawyers.

CNI action and torture

Regarding the National Intelligence Center’s (CNI’s) initial action, the court’s ruling says that “we appreciate the existence of other acts of verification deployed by the Guardia Civil, apart from the telephone observations made by the CNI that mediate a judicial solution that is made possible”. The Chamber rejects the claim of nullity, on which it did not take a position when it was raised as a pre-trial issue. The CNI declined to testify at the hearing.

As for the torture allegations, the ruling includes the testimonies of Zuriarrain and Agirre in court. In both cases, however, the court limited itself to documenting this and went on to add that there were no “signs of violence” in the forensic reports, concluding that “the torture allegations are unsubstantiated”.

Arguments of the sentence

The verdict states that the four convicted lawyers operated in favor of ETA from two legal offices in Bilbao and Hernani (Gipuzkoa): “Everyone worked together from their respective professional competences and respected the assignments assigned by ETA”.

In this way, they explain, “they put their services at the disposal of the terrorist group, from whose locations they sent and received orders.” They also had “personal contact with other active members and leaders” of the same “to seek the best knowledge of their affiliates who have been deprived of their liberty” or who “had gone through that trance”.

In support of the ruling, the Chamber ensures that the facts are proven after the tests carried out during the oral hearing, which took place between the months of July and November last year.

From the analysis of all the evidence, the magistrates conclude that the four convicts participated in and were active in ETA’s objectives, “not directly committing violent acts, but rather contributing to the cohesion and persistence of the militants deprived of their liberty.” so that they would still be associated with the criminal organization that covered them up for committing the illegal acts against people and property that they committed or attempted to commit at the time.”