The AN revokes the third degree of the ETA member convicted of the murder of Fernando Buesa, considering it premature

The Penitentiary Surveillance judge recalls that "he is serving a sentence for very serious crimes" and "he still has many years pending"

MADRID, 15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The National Court (AN) has revoked the third degree of the prisoner of the terrorist group ETA Asier Carrera, convicted of the fatal attack with a car bomb that killed the Basque socialist leader Fernando Buesa and his escort in the year 2000, considering "premature" the agreed progression.

In an order dated February 7, to which Europa Press has had access, the Penitentiary Surveillance magistrate María Reyes Jimeno upholds the Prosecutor's appeal and annuls the agreement of the Basque Government Justice Department, thus agreeing that Carrera continue to second grade.

The judge stresses that, despite the fact that Carrera has submitted writings of repentance that must be assessed, "there are no strong or sufficient technical reports for the purposes" of granting progression.

"Based on the aforementioned data and despite the positive assessment of the evolution of the prisoner in his position regarding his crimes and in relation to their victims, whom he mentions by name, the proposed and adopted grade progression is considered premature. by the Ministry of Justice", details the magistrate.

And this is so, he stresses, since "it cannot be ignored that the inmate is serving a sentence for very serious crimes, he still has many years of sentence pending and has not begun to enjoy ordinary exit permits as a step prior to semi-liberty ".

Despite the fact that the judge acknowledges that the letter by which Carrera acknowledged "the damage caused to the victims of the events" for which he was sentenced, he assures that it cannot be "forgotten" that the ETA member has recently been assessed by the Chamber of Appeal "as insufficient for the start of ordinary exit permits".

It was in October of last year when the Basque Government granted the third degree to Carrera and four other prisoners of the organization. Carrera, the only one of the five with blood crimes, until now enjoyed the principle of penitentiary flexibility of article 100.2. He entered prison in November 2000 for a 30-year sentence for the crimes of murder, injury, possession of weapons, havoc and violence, as reported by Penitentiary Institutions when he was transferred from jail.

Specifically, Carrera is serving a sentence for being the terrorist in charge of activating the remote control of the car bomb that killed the leader of the PSE-EE and the ertzaina who was acting as an escort. In addition, the National Court sentenced him for having attempted an attack in 2000 against the deputy general of Álava, Ramón Rabanera.

This decision by the Penitentiary Surveillance judge represents the eighth case in which the National Court has revoked progressions to third degree of gang prisoners. In addition to Carrera, last November the court suspended the progression of ETA inmate Asier Rodríguez.

According to data from the observatory of the Association Victims of Terrorism (AVT), the AN itself has revoked the promotion to third degree of Javier Atristain, Miguel Guillermo San Argimiro, Jose Ignacio Bilbao, Gorka Martinez, Aitor Esnaola and Jose Maria Arregi.

Prison Surveillance has revoked 8 third degrees of the total of 34 granted by the Basque Government. This same week the regional Executive has progressed to the ETA prisoner Iker Lima Sagarna. Of the total, the Prosecutor's Office of the National Court itself has appealed 22.

As reported by the Department of Justice, Equality and Social Policies, the Basque Executive has approved 518 prisoner grade progressions since January 1, 2022, of which 34 correspond to inmates who once belonged to the terrorist group ETA.

The AVT Observatory records 33 proposals from the Basque Government to advance ETA prisoners to the third degree, although its statistics do not include -unlike the Basque Executive- a person convicted of terrorism who continues in the second degree but with the regime of flexibility of article 100.2.

With regard to rank revocations, there were 12 last year, of which eight corresponded to ETA prisoners, according to the Basque Government, which adds that currently the prison population amounts to 1,616 people, including 146 convicted for belonging to ETA.