Sortu’s general secretary, Arkaitz Rodríguez, explained that with this sentence, Europe has “said that the incommunicado regime applied to Atristain has violated and violated the right of defense and the right to a fair and just trial”.
Euskaraz irakurri: Atristaini moduan, inkomunikazioa ezarri zitzaien presoak kaleratzerako eskatu du Sortuk
Sortu has demanded “reparation” and the release of prisoners who “have seen their rights violated”, as in the case of ETA prisoner Xabier Atristain, after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (TDEH) has upheld the Spanish state’s conviction for violating its right to a fair trial and dismissed the appeal filed by Spain through the public prosecutor.
In a press conference in Donostia-San Sebastián, Sortu’s general secretary, Arkaitz Rodriguezaccompanied by his own Xavier Atristain and the lawyer Zigor Reizabalexplained that with this sentence, Europe has “said that the incommunicado regime applied to Atristain has violated and violated at least two fundamental rights: the right of defense and the right to a fair and just trial”.
“If there is no right of defense, there can be no conviction, and if there is a conviction, that sentence is unjust and should be null and void,” said Rodríguez, pointing out that “this form of solitary confinement that had been applied on Atristain and that Europe has said it is violating fundamental rights, is exactly the same thing that has been systematically and widely applied to this city.
“In this country there are thousands of Xabier Atristainthousands of people whose rights of defense have been violated, their right to a fair and just trial, but what is more serious is that there are currently dozens of people in prison who have seen those fundamental rights violated and that they are still being unfairly treated and illegally imprisoned,” he stated.
“If there is no right of defense, there can be no conviction, and if there is a conviction, that conviction is unjust and must be null and void.”
For example, it believes that they all “need to be reinstated”, requiring “the cessation of that situation of injustice, that violation of fundamental rights to which they are still victims, and that they be released”.
The state is obliged to do this under the agreement it talks about legislative issues at European level and there are legal and legislative ways to do this,” he insisted.
According to him, “it would not be fair, reasonable or equitable if all these Xabier Atristain were forced to go to Europe one by one in search of justice”.
“What is fair and reasonable, and what the state and the Spanish government are also obliged to do, is to do what was done with the Parot doctrine at the time and to apply that new jurisprudence, that new doctrine, to all these analogous cases.” he noted.
Sortu’s leader has announced that they are going “give the legal and political battle” because “it is justice, because we are talking about a violation of fundamental rights”.
Moreover, he is convinced that “solving this issue in this way would make a qualitative contribution to the solution of the prisoner question and thus to the building of democratic coexistence in this country.”
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Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
