Protest against Basques' extraditions in Belfast
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Thursday May 14, 2009 11:58
by Don't extradite the Basques Campaign
info at dontextraditethebasques dot org
40 people protested against Spanish political persecution of Basques.
Yesterday afternoon a hearing on the extradition case against Belfast-based Basque pro-independence activist Arturo "Benat" Villanueva was held in the Laganside Court in Belfast. Benat was arrested on the 22nd of April by the PSNI at his home in west Belfast after a European arrest warrant had been issued against him by the Spanish National Court (Diplock Court). He's been charged with "membership of terrorist organization" because of his political work in the Basque pro-independence youth movement. The Basque youth organizations Jarrai, Haika and Segi were declared "terrorist" by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2007.
At the hearing Benat's solicitors raised their concerns surrounding the breach of the retrospectivity principle. The barrister said he thought he could proof in this case there is a clear persecution of his defendant's political ideas. Benat has been acussed of being a member of the Basque pro-independence and socialist political organization Jarrai from 1994 to 2000 while the mentioned organization was declared illegal in 2005 and terrorist in 2007.
The 12th of June was set by the judge as the date to present a defence skeleton argument. Meanwhile Benat will remain under the same bail conditions: curfew from 9pm to 7am and presenting himself every day at police barracks.
40 people held a picket outside the court buildings with a banner on which this slogan could be read: "Stop political Spanish political persecution against the Basque Country. Don't extradite the Basques."
A public meeting to launch the campaign against Benat and also Belfast-based Basque pro-independence activist Inaki de Juana will be launched on Thursday 14th of May at 6pm in An Chultúrlann, Falls Road, Belfast.
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35 people attended today the first public meeting with Inaki and Benat as main speakers. Both told the audience (from many different political backgrounds) about their cases. Kevin Morrison from the Belfast Basque Solidarity Committe chaired the meeting and set the general background in the Basque Country and the campaign's objectives: get the extradition cases dropped and rise awareness arbout the repression of political and civil rights in the Basque Country .
Those who attended were heartened when heard the stories. Some breaking news arrived in the middle of the meeting. The Spanish government is going to ban yet another electoral platform. The difference is that this time there are not Basques involved. It's Internationalist Initiative (www.iniciativainternacionalista.org) lead by the most important Spanish living playwright 83 year-old Alfonso Sastre.
Different ideas for the campaign emerged from the public and it was decided to set another session to form the campaign and a plan of action. The date will be announced soon.
The Dublin Committee stands full square behind Arturo Benat Villanueva and Inaki de Juana in their resistance against extradition (see article posted by "Don't Extradite the Basques". The Spanish state has failed the tests of due process, protection for the rights of the accused and right to a fair trial, not to speak of the rights of freedom of speech, assembly and of self-determination. These failures have been attested to by many organisations, including the UN, the EU and Amnesty International, none of which is known for having a revolutionary perspective.
On the other hand, Arturo is accused not of having committed any illegal act, not to speak of 'terrorist' actions, but of belonging to a political youth group which the Spanish state later banned and then decreed to be 'terrorist' -- again, without any evidence for that accusation. Inaki served a long time in prison and was detained illegally past his release date. When he wrote two articles, one of which was in protest at this continued detention, he was sentenced to another 12 years (later reduced to three) on the allegation of "making terrorist threats", although any objective perusal of the text of the letters has failed to find such threats. After his eventual release he was again hounded for allegedly using the phrase "onward with the ball" in an alleged letter (the existence of which has not even been proved) allegedly read out at a welcome home reception given in his honour. The Spanish state claims that the phrase is an "encouragement to terrorism",
These ridiculous and farcical state judicial actions are unfortunately an all-too-serious reality for people in the Basque country but the Spanish state is not content with that and reaches out to strike them even outside its borders. No other state should cooperate with them in this and the British state and its courts in the Six Counties should refuse to send these Basques to suffer repression, injustice and quite possibly torture.
We hope that people throughout Ireland will express their solidarity with the targeted Basques in messages and actions of solidarity, and in actions of protest to the British and Spanish authorities.
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