The Prosecutor's Office will not watch Évole's documentary about 'Josu Ternera' because it sees no crime

He points out that freedom of expression prevails and that there is no room for "prior censorship"

The Prosecutor's Office of the National Court (AN) has indicated this Thursday that it will not view the interview of journalist Jordi Évole with the former head of ETA José Antonio Urrutikoetxea Bengoetxea, alias 'Josu Ternera', as requested by Dignity and Justice (DyJ) because the Constitution "recognizes and protects the right to freely express and disseminate thoughts." He adds that he does not see any criminal offense in that audiovisual piece.

In a decree signed this Thursday by the lieutenant prosecutor of the AN, Marta Durántez, collected by Europa Press, she explains that the pre-procedural proceedings have been opened and archived on the matter, and that she rules out reviewing the documentary before its broadcast at the International Festival of San Sebastián Cinema.

He thus responds to the letter sent by Dignity and Justice (DyJ) to the Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz, in which they asked him to view the documentary in case "a crime of glorifying terrorism could be committed." or humiliation of their victims.

They recalled that the former head of ETA has an active judicial process and that the Public Ministry charges him with 11 crimes of completed murder and another 88 attempted murders - as many as those injured in the Zaragoza attack -. In addition, they indicated that a sentence of 2,354 years in prison is requested for him.

But in its decree, the Prosecutor's Office, after pointing out that it is competent to analyze this matter, recalls that article 20 of the Constitution protects the right to "freely express and disseminate thoughts, ideas and opinions through words, writing or any other means." other means of reproduction", the right to "literary, artistic, scientific and technical production and creation" and to "freely communicate or receive truthful information by any means of dissemination".

It adds that the exercise of these rights cannot be restricted by any type of "prior censorship" and that the seizure of publications, recordings and other means of information may only be agreed upon by virtue of a judicial resolution.

Thus, and citing that there is freedom of the press, he recalls that the limitation of this right "can in no case be based on hypotheses or suppositions of the commission of a specific crime, lacking any evidence that would lead to such a conclusion."

In this sense, Durántez points out that what the victims' association is asking for is a "prospective investigation based on the circumstances of the person interviewed," and concludes that after examining the letter sent, "it is appropriate to issue a decree initiating and archiving the present proceedings, because the reported facts do not constitute any criminal offense and the interested party's request for prior viewing of the interview is not granted."

DON'T ME LLAME TERNERA' 'Don't call me Ternera', a documentary co-directed by Jordi Évole and Màrius Sánchez, will open 'Made in Spain' at the San Sebastián Festival and will complete this section that includes 19 other notable Spanish feature films of the year. The film offers an exclusive interview of Évole with 'Josu Ternera', and provides a "hard and unprecedented look" at his career as leader of the terrorist organization ETA.

The film, scheduled for world premiere, also addresses "some of the decisive moments of ETA" until its dissolution in 2018, as detailed by the San Sebastian contest. Furthermore, the "tense and exhaustive" conversation with Urrutikoetxea allows an ETA victim to resolve unknowns about the attack she suffered almost 50 years ago.

This same Thursday it has emerged that associations of victims of terrorism and several unions of the Police and the Civil Guard have claimed that 'Josu Ternera' where he has to speak is before the National Court (AN) and not in a documentary.