Basque Government grants third degree to former ETA leader Henri Parot

The Basque Government has granted the third degree of prison status to former ETA leader Henri Parot. This decision, based on a report from the Zubieta prison's treatment board, allows Parot to live in a semi-liberty regime, meaning he can leave the prison during the day but must return to sleep there.

Parot, who has been imprisoned since 1990, is serving a cumulative sentence for his activities with ETA, which included responsibility for 39 deaths. He previously held a semi-liberty status that allowed him to perform volunteer work on weekdays. In a letter to the prison board, Parot expressed a rejection of “all violence” and stated a desire to “recognize the suffering caused and try, as much as possible, to repair it.”

The Prosecutor's Office will now review the decision to determine whether to appeal it. Parot's legal history includes the controversial “Parot Doctrine,” which was eventually overturned by the European Court of Human Rights in 2013.