The etarra Zaldua asks the AN for its acquittal for the murder of former PP president in Aragon Manuel Giménez Abad

He assures that there is no "crime" and charges against the evidence raised by the accusations ahead of the oral hearing

MADRID, 25 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The ETA member Itxaso Zaldua has asked the National Court for her acquittal in view of the trial that the court will hold for the murder of the former president of the Popular Party in Aragon, Manuel Giménez Abad, an oral hearing that is pending for France to authorize the delivery of the another defendant in this case: Mikel Carrera Sarobe, alias 'Ata'.

In a letter from last December, collected by Europa Press, Zaldua's defense expressed his disagreement with the provisional conclusions written by the Prosecutor's Office, the family of Giménez Abad and the Dignity and Justice Association, while, he points out, "the facts do not occur as reported" by the accusations.

"The facts for which my client is responsible do not constitute any crime typified in the current Penal Code. As there is no crime, it is not possible to speak of degrees of participation or modifying circumstances of criminal responsibility," defends his lawyer.

Facing the trial, Zaldua's representation challenges the three reports provided by the accusations and which are proposed as expert reports, considering that "they not only expose referential and selected information", but also incorporate "interpretations and judgments with the claim of a substitution of the Tribunal and of the ordinary evaluative guidelines of the latter in the analysis and in obtaining the conclusions, by the police reasoning".

"The reports presented as 'Expert Intelligence Report', lack that expert nature that the accusations grant them since it does not provide the court with technical, scientific, artistic or practical knowledge whose purpose is to establish a reality that is not directly verifiable by the court itself. ", criticizes Zaldua's writing.

On the other hand, the ETA member proposes as evidence to practice in the oral hearing the testimony of a total of 30 people, two expert opinions and documentary evidence that includes medical reports, press clippings and photographs.

It should be remembered that the then head of the Central Investigating Court Number 1, Santiago Pedraz, prosecuted Zaldua and the last military chief of ETA, 'Ata', for an alleged crime of terrorist murder committed in 2001 against Giménez Abad.

Zaldua, specifically, was arrested on July 21, 2020 in Hernani as allegedly responsible for the death of the former leader. The ETA member had already been sentenced in France to 18 years in prison as responsible for the logistics of ETA's military apparatus after being arrested in 2005 along with another ETA member, Joseba Segurola.

The oral hearing for the murder of Giménez Abad, however, still does not have a date. The National Court has yet to go to France to obtain the necessary permission to prosecute Carrera Sarobe for these events.

The court held a hearing precisely last Friday in which the defense of 'Ata' opposed being tried, recalling that he was not handed over by the French country for these events. This refusal forces the Criminal Chamber to process a European Arrest and Surrender Order in order to sit him on the bench.

In their indictment, the family of Giménez Abad, who exercises the private prosecution, asks to impose penalties of 30 years in prison on Carrera Sarobe and Itxaso and the prohibition of approaching the city of Zaragoza to less than 1 kilometer for 5 years. In addition, they request that they have to jointly and severally compensate the widow and each of the four children of the leader in the amount of 250,000 euros to each of them.

Giménez Abad's relatives accuse 'Ata' of shooting Giménez Abad "in the back and at point blank range" "in the presence of his underage son." Itxaso, for his part, "waited in the vicinity of the place" while his partner carried out the deadly attack.

The Dignidad y Justicia (DyJ) association, which exercises popular prosecution, has requested that the same sentence be imposed for both ETA members: 30 years in prison. In addition, they ask that they not be able to approach Zaragoza and the place of residence of the widow and children of Giménez Abad, as well as to communicate or approach them for 10 years.