The judge investigating the murder of Gregorio Ordóñez asks the parties before deciding whether to extend the investigation

The councilor's widow and son have asked the magistrate to continue investigating the possible responsibility of the ETA leadership

MADRID, 16 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The judge of the National Court who is investigating the alleged participation of the leadership of the terrorist organization ETA in the murder on January 23, 1995 in San Sebastián of the Popular Party councilor Gregorio Ordóñez has asked the parties to rule on the possibility to extend the investigation before making a decision on it.

In a ruling last Thursday, collected by Europa Press, the head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 1, Alejandro Abascal, urges the accusations and the defenses to give their opinion on this point after the widow and son of Ordóñez They asked him last December to extend the investigation of the case, which ends on January 29.

It was last July when the magistrate extended the investigation for six months, explaining that, at that time, it was pending "to gather information from the French authorities on the status of processing of the European surrender orders issued against" Javier Arizcuren, alias " Kantauri', Julián Achurra Egurola, 'Pototo' and Juan Luis Aguirre Lete, 'Isuntza'.

The judge agreed to continue investigating at the request of both the widow and son of the PP councilor and the Dignity and Justice Association. This extension of the investigation was also requested at the time by the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT), the San Sebastián City Council, the Association of the Team of Victims of Terrorism of the Civil Guard, the Popular Party and the Prosecutor's Office.

The National Court has already condemned Juan Ramón Carasatorre, nicknamed 'Jon' and 'Zapata', Javier García Gaztelu, 'Txapote', and Valentín Lasarte as the material authors of the attack committed against the Basque councilor, who was shot when he was having lunch in a bar in the capital of San Sebastián with the then secretary of the Popular Group, María San Gil, and two other collaborators.

The investigation of this attack was resumed in 2015, when the facts were close to prescribing, at the request of a complaint filed by Consuelo Ordóñez, sister of the murdered councilor and current president of the Collective of Victims of Terrorism (Covite), to identify and judge the 'masterminds' of this crime.

Intelligence reports then drawn up by the Guardia Civil enabled the former head of said court, Santiago Pedraz, to attribute intellectual authorship to 'Iñaki de Rentería' and Mikel Albisu, 'Mikel Antza', as well as the also members of the old cupola etarra Julian Achurra Egurola, 'Pototo'; Jose Javier Arizcuren Ruiz, 'Songwriter'; and John Louis Aguirre Lete, 'Insuntza'

The equally former head of ETA 'Mikel Antza' testified before Abascal on December 21, 2021 by videoconference from Donosti to deny his participation in the events and attribute the evidence against him to alleged torture of Basque prisoners.

For his part, 'Iñaki de Rentería' refused to testify before the judge of the National Court on February 21, 2022. The former head of ETA only spoke to deny his involvement as an intellectual author in the murder of the councilor.