Former Basque political prisoner and hunger-striker Inaki de Juana attended a hearing at the Belfast Courts yesterday. Members of the Belfast branch of the Irish Basque Solidarity Committees and supporters stood outside displaying a banner and flags.
After months of discussion on the matter Judge Burgess decided today that the alleged offence of “glorifying terrorism” claimed by the Spanish Special Court has its equivalent in British law. This decision means that Inaki de Juana could eventually be extradited to Spain. However the decision is not final yet as his defense team will appeal against it.
Belfast-based Basque pro-independence activist Inaki de Juana spent 22 years in prison completing not only his sentence to the full but also three extra years for writing a newspaper article where he criticised the prison system. Now, the Spanish authorities want him because of a letter allegedly written by him and read out at his welcoming-home event. The letter ended with a popular Basque saying which can be translated as “forward with the ball” and it’s been interpreted by Spanish judges as “keep on with the armed struggle”. Inaki never attended the welcoming party and denies writing the letter. Even the Spanish police say they don’t have such a letter.
Such a ridiculous case has to be understood in a context of harassment and brutal repression against Inaki, the Basque political prisoners and the pro-independence movement.
2 comments:
FREE HIM NOW
I'm Basque, writing from the Basque Country, and I don't agree with you :
Why do some people in Euskal Herria think that those who don't think the same as them, deserve to be killed ????? Why a person who would be executed in the USA for terrorism should get protection in IRELAND ????? Do the things have to be imposed to the whole Basque society by the violence ??????
I'm afraid this is the most awful and stinking totalitarianism, reminding me of HITLER or STALINE or even FRANCO, and that's what some people in the Basque country are claiming : independence or death. And some of the murdered didn't even have political opinions, weren't even 18 , and they were cruelly murdered.
30 years ago the families of the victims of ETA couldn't even hold the funerals of their victims in the cathedral of San Sebastian because the bishop of Gipuzkoa supported the murderers.
I say yes to the independence, but without terrorism.
ASKATASUNA BAI !!!! E.T.A. EZ !!!!
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