Strasbourg condemns alleged ETA torture

THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has criticised Spain for its failure to investigate the alleged torture of ETA members.

Tuesday October 7 saw the ECHR condemn Spain’s apathy towards the allegations that a member of the Basque terrorist organisation ETA and a member of Segi, a Basque pro-independence movement were subjected to torture.

The court in Strasbourg said that investigations into the alleged torture of Beatriz Etxebarría Caballero and Oihan Unai Ataun Rojo simply did not take place, and the judges have reminded Spain of the importance of adopting the European Commission’s recommendations to prevent torture.

Such recommendations include the enforcement of legally-supervised medical examinations and care to protect and avoid the physical abuse of detainees.

The ECHR ruling has awarded €25,000 in compensation plus €4,000 in costs for Etxebarría and €20,000 in compensation and €4,000 in costs for Atuan. The Court also said that there was not enough evidence to determine the severity of the torture that the pair claim they were subjected to.

Etxebarría was arrested in Vizcaya in 2011 in an anti-ETA operation carried out by the Guardia Civil.

Atuan, meanwhile, was detained in Navarra on November 10, 2008 as part of a judicial investigation against Segi.