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ETA prisoners semi‑liberty legal disputes

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-27 20:47 UTC → 2026-08-12 13:14 UTC · added removed

In late July 2026 2026, the Basque regional justice authority reinstated semi‑liberty semi-liberty for two ETA members – members, Juan Ramón Carasatorre and Alberto López de la Calle – Calle, after a prior grant had been revoked by the Central Penitentiary Surveillance Court and upheld by the Audiencia Nacional. The regional government’s new proposal sparked criticism from victims’ groups. A week later later, the Audiencia Nacional’s prison‑surveillance prison-surveillance court, chaired by Judge José Luis Castro, overturned the third‑degree semi‑liberty third-degree semi-liberty previously granted to two other ETA convicts, Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi and Oskar Celarain. The court ruled that the legal criteria for early release had not been satisfied, citing the need for a longer period of verified positive behaviour in cases involving extreme terrorist violence. The revocations delay any licensing until at least 2032 for Celarain and 2036 for Olarra, reinforcing the tension between the Basque government’s attempts to grant early liberty and the national judiciary’s stricter standards. In August 2026, the Basque Government extended this practice by granting semi-liberty to José Juan García González, also known as ‘Gogoan’ or ‘Atutxo’, following his 16-year sentence for a 2003 hotel explosion. The Collective of Victims of Terrorism (Covite) has strongly criticized the move, labeling it ‘fraudulent’ and arguing that the regional government is using article 100.2 of the penitentiary regulations as a ‘shortcut’ to bypass minimum sentence requirements without verifiable repentance. Together, these rulings illustrate an ongoing contest over the application of article 100.2 of the penitentiary regulations, with regional authorities seeking to ease restrictions for ETA prisoners while the national courts impose tighter safeguards, amid continued opposition from victims’ associations.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-12 13:14 UTC ETA prisoners semi‑liberty legal disputes
  2. 2026-07-27 20:47 UTC ETA prisoners semi‑liberty legal disputes

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