Basque courts issue rulings on fraud‑convicted health security chief and ETA prisoners' semi‑liberty

A court in Vitoria‑Gasteiz sentenced the former head of security for Osakidetza, the Basque health service, to six months in prison and a fine of €1,080 for falsifying a university degree to obtain the post. The judgment, now final, suspends the prison term for two years on the condition that the defendant commits no further offences.

The Basque Government has re‑applied article 100.2 of the penitentiary regulations, granting semi‑liberty to two ETA members – Juan Ramón Carasatorre and Alberto López de la Calle (alias Mobutu). The earlier grant to Carasatorre was revoked by the Central Penitentiary Surveillance Court, and the Audiencia Nacional upheld the revocation for lack of an execution plan. A new proposal from the regional justice department has allowed the semi‑liberty measure to be reinstated, prompting criticism from the victims’ association AVT.