Political Prisoners Attacked
international |
eu |
opinion/analysis 
Saturday March 13, 2004 21:49
by In Solidarity
Reports have it that many political prisoners are currently being attacked while being held in Spanish prisons.
Many Spanish and Basque Newspapers are begining to report news from relatives of political prisoners who have links to Eta and GRAPO have been involved in violents attacks against them by other inmates as well as from guards. Gara/ElMundo.es .
Further independent reports listed on discussion boards have reported that many political prisoners are currently being attacked while being held in Spanish prisons some have been hospitalised and isolated as tension increases.
Other news, I've also read further reports of Basque political prisoners being attacked in various jails.
The Spanish foreign Ministers has been criticised by El Pais, for sending few hours after the bombings a telegram to all
Spanish Embassies across the world asking to 'make sure to blame ETA at any given opportunity'.
A thousand people have staged a picket outside the PP headquarter with placards "demanding for the truth"
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5The Spanish government point to those they know were not involved in this atrocity, and they avoid laying the blame on those who everyone knows carried it out., and all for party political advantage. That is an insult to the dead and dying.
Generalissimo Franco is alive and well.
Not only the Spanish government. The British government knew within three hours of the attacks that they were the work of Al' Quaeda. This was reported by ex British defence minister ,Michael Portillo ,on the Andrew Neil programne the day after the bombings.
If the British government knew who was responsible it's safe to assume that the US and other pro war regimes did too.
Should Spain's PP win today's elections by manipulating the truth about the atrocities ,the question needs to be asked :- At what stage does this type of opportunism become complicity in the terrorist act? Aznar was prepared to use the justified outrage of the Spanish and Basque people to the bombings to further his own agenda. The same goes for Bush and Blair. Consciously or unconcously , they are allowing Al Queda to do their dirty work for them.
Political prisoners or not, anyone assisting ETA deserves a good hammering.
At present there are 670 Basque political prisoners- this is the largest number of political prisoners since the Franco dictatorship- spread over 7 States and 82 prisoners.
The majority of these prisoners, 551, are in Spanish prisons, in a total of 51 prisons that are, on average, 580 kilometres from Euskal Herria.
In relation to the French State there are 113 Basque political prisoners being held in 26 prisons. On average they are being held at a distance of 800 kilometres from their homes.
Of the 670 Basque prisoners only 40 are being held in prisons in Euskal Herria, despite the fact that European legislation recognises the right of prisoners to carry out their sentences in prisons close to their homes.
foto (1) ,Basque society and Basque institutions reject the policy of dispersing prisoners .
foto (2) ,The tragic balance of distancing prisoners from their homes: 14 deaths .
foto (3) , the family .
http://www.gara.net/english/basqueprisoners/index.htm
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.