The right-wing opposition in Spain claims it was misled by the government into endorsing a modification of the incarceration system. This change would permit the early freedom of over 40 members of the Basque militant group, Eta.
The proposed amendment to the law regulating criminal records distribution was affirmed by the lower house in September with comprehensive party support. A specification within this legislation would acknowledge time spent in jails abroad, decreasing the total required incarceration period in Spanish prisons.
The Socialist-dominant government argues that this alteration complies with EU standards. However, right-oriented parties are presently objecting they were conned into backing the adjustment as they were uninformed it would favour Eta members.
The Basque faction instigated an ongoing violent pursuit lasting 40 years for autonomy, causing 853 fatalities before disbanding in 2018. The political right in Spain often insinuates that Eta’s influence still permeates Basque extremist circles and even national politics.
The Association for Terrorism Victims (ATV) has stated that prison sentences of 44 Eta detainees could potentially be shortened, 23 of whom convicted of violent offences. Among these offenders is Francisco Javier García Gaztelu, also known as Txapote, convicted of multiple murders. He was originally scheduled for release in 2032, however, with this reform could see his sentence completed as early as the following year, reports ATV. This is due to his time served in French prisons.
ATV president Maite Araluce remarked, “We always aspired to witness the cessation of terrorism with clear victors and losers. Nevertheless, we never envisioned the victors being the terrorists and losers the victims.”
The leader of the primary opposition Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, recognised the conservatives had committed an “inexcusable error” by voting in favour of the adjustment. He alleged the government had quietly managed to pass the provision aiding Eta convicts by means of “a parliamentary manoeuvre of enormous ethical depravity”.
The Senate, which is under the opposition’s power, planned to vote on the bill this Tuesday. Despite this, the final decision from the upper house, who is incapable of blocking the implementation of the reform, has been postponed to the following week.
Accusations have been made by both AVT and the opposition, claiming the government introduced the reform as a bargain made with the Basque pro-independence coalition, EH Bildu, whose backing they require in Congress. EH Bildu is regularly portrayed as the ideological successor of Eta by the political right.
Regardless, the government denies any such bargain with EH Bildu. Its representative, Pilar Alegría, responded that the PP had known what they were voting for, assuring that there had been no deceptions or errors in the navigation of the reform. She insisted the process was conducted in a transparent manner.