Upon their arrival at the Paris Criminal Court, where dozens of political and social agents waited to express their support, the two defendants have insisted that they acted in favor of peace at all times.
The Paris criminal court began ruling on Tuesday Jean Noel Etcheverry Txetx And Beatrice Molletwo of the “craftsmen of peace” who were arrested in Luhuso (Lapurdi) just over seven years ago while assisting in the dismantling the ETA arsenals. Both are facing a tax claim for 10 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros on charges of possession and transport of weapons, ammunition and explosives and links to ETA.
Smiling and calm, the two activists arrived at the doors of the criminal court around 12:30 p.m., where a large and diverse group of elected officials and Iparralde agents were waiting to show their support. Both claim that they have always acted in the interests of peace and emphasize that there was never any criminal intent on their part. “On the contrary, we did it in a modest way for the good of Basque citizens,” they added. In the same line, Etcheverry, interviewed in Euskadi Irratia, stated that the key to the process will be to clarify the following question: “Were we terrorists or artisans of peace?”
To begin the trial, the judge read out the charges that form the indictment against the two suspects and immediately gave way to the interrogations. The six defense witnesses are expected to testify today, including Mathias Fekl, the French interior minister when the Luhuso operation was carried out, and then prefect of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Eric Morvan.
The trial comes six years after ETA’s disappearance and when two of the five activists arrested in 2016 (Mixel Berhokoirigoin and Mixel Bergougnan) have already died. The fifth person arrested, Stephane Etchegaray, was acquitted by the French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office.
Etcheverry and Molle have announced that they will acknowledge the facts, and have insisted that they would do so again, as their aim was to achieve the disarmament of ETA as quickly as possible in order to achieve lasting peace and the resolution of the conflict in Euskal to reach Herria. According to what they stated during an appearance in the French capital last week, acquittal is “the only acceptable judicial solution”, as conviction would amount to treating the process of civil disarmament as terrorism. “It wasn’t terrorism, it was an act of peace.”
His defense will argue that the five activists were arrested as they prepared to destroy part of ETA’s arsenal, as happened a few months later, on April 8, 2017, during the internationally verified disarmament (on that occasion no one arrested). Etcheverry himself has assured that he has transported weapons “on two occasions” after April 8, always with “the approval of the French authorities”.
Thousands of people are calling for his acquittal
The ‘artisans of peace’ have received support from numerous public, political and social figures. Nearly 4,000 people have signed a statement in his defense. Signatories include former Irish Prime Minister Berthie Ahern or former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, several former French ministers (including the heads of Justice and Home Affairs in Bernard Cazeneuve’s government), deputies and government officials from Iparralde , such as Jean-René Etchegaray or Kotte Ezenarro.
In addition, meetings will be held tomorrow in front of the town halls of the Basque capitals, as called for by various trade unions and social actors. They will take place at 12:00 noon in Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, San Sebastián and Pamplona, and at 7:00 pm in Baiona, Maule and Donibane Garazi. ELA, LAB, ESK, HIRU, STEILAS and ETXALDE, together with the Social Forum, Antxeta Irratia, Bilgune Feminista, Etxerat, Egiari Zor, Gernika Batzordea, Hitz & Hitz, Sare eta Bakea and Duintasuna, support the call.
Seven years since the Luhuso operation
The Luhuso police operation, carried out by the Guardia Civil in collaboration with the French police, took place on December 16, 2016 and was described by the French government as “a new hard blow for ETA”, involving the loss of an “important” warehouse of “weapons , explosives and ammunition.”
The five detainees, mainly Jean Noel Etcheverry and Mixel Berhokoirigoin, were well known in Iparralde and had ties to agricultural unions and peace movements. Four days later they were released on charges.
Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
