Free The Egunkaria Five! No Jail For Basque Journalists!

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Wednesday January 27, 2010 13:57 by Dublin Basque - Irish Basque Solidarity Committees

Basque journalists' defence committee coordinator comes to Ireland to seek support for their case

First ever daily Basque-language newspaper Egunkaria was closed down by the Spanish state in 2003, 18 journalists and administrators arrested and five tortured. Five journalists are now on trial by Spanish Court for alleged links to armed group ETA. However the Spanish State Prosecutor said that there is no evidence and the case should be dropped, whereupon the Spanish state permitted two right-wing organisations to proceed with the prosecution. Ainara Mendiola, Coordinator of the defence campaign in the Basque Country, will be speaking at public meetings in Dublin on Tuesday 2nd February.

Giant banner supporting Egunkaria at San Fermín festival

The confiscation of thousands of documents and computers and the arrest of 18 journalists and administrators was the outcome of systematic operations carried out by Spanish police in 2003. The journalists were held incommunicado under Spain’s “anti-terrorist” legislation, during which time five of the detainees stated they were tortured. None of the claims of torture have been taken seriously by the state and no formal investigation has been initiated as a result. One of the torture victims has since taken a case to the European Court of Human Rights. In October 2003 the defence lawyer for the accused was arrested and held incommunicado but was released some days later without charge.

The closure and arrests will be the subject of a series of public meetings in Dublin on Tuesday February 2nd. The meetings will be addressed by Ainara Mendiola, Coordinator of the Defence Committee for the accused and are being organised by the Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee.

Egunkaria, the first daily newspaper entirely in Basque, was created by public subscription in 1990. It was closed by the Spanish special court at the request of the Guardia Civil in 2003. All journalists and administrative staff arrested during the operation were employed by Egunkaria. The trial of the five arrested opened in December 2009.

The Spanish State Prosecutor has stated there is no evidence to support the charges and that the case should be dropped. The State however is permitting the case to go ahead with a number of right-wing organisations as the effective prosecutors; they are asking for sentences ranging from 12 to 14 years’ imprisonment for the accused.

All of the accused have vigorously denied the charges, stating that there is no evidence to support the charges, nor will there be any, because they are false.

Huge demonstrations have been held throughout the Basque Country in support of the accused. A number of international organisations have also criticised the Spanish state’s actions.

Meetings addressed by Egunkaria speaker in Derry, Belfast, Dublin 30th January to 2nd February 2010

Dublin February 2nd:
afternoon: TBC
evening: 8.00 pm. Pearse House, 27 Pearse Street, BÁC 2.

Contact details for the Defence committee in the Basque Country are as follows:
Ainara Mendiola
Coordinator of the international campaign in favour of Egunkaria
Martin Ugalde Kultur Parkea
20160 Andoain, Gipuzkoa (Basque Country)
e-mail: [email protected]
Office number: (00 34) 943 300 600 / Mobile: (00 34) 655 73 76 64

The Egunkaria Five