Iratxe Sorzabal, a former ETA leader, has denied her involvement in the attacks and has claimed that her confession to that attack and 21 others, which were recorded in a ‘kantada’ (a handwritten note sent by ETA members to the gang’s leadership after their arrest), was obtained under torture. She is currently facing six years in prison.

This is the statement she made in response to her attorney during the trial at the National Court, which is currently preparing for sentencing. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is requesting a six-year penitentiary sentence for her.

Sorzabal, who wept as she recalled her second arrest in 2001 and her time in police detention, insisted that she began collaborating with ETA in 1996. However, she denied that she was a member of any commando group, as her responsibilities with the group included securing the border with France.

During her interrogation, the former ETA member disclosed that the Civil Guard subjected her to a variety of forms of torture after her arrest. She discussed electrodes that caused burns on her back, bags being placed in her mouth, and blows. This experience compelled her to disclose the information she was compelled to admit as her own in the “kantada” and during her incommunicado detention at police stations.

“I signed because I had not slept for two days,” he stated. He also took 28 photographs and offered to claim the attack on Carrero Blanco as his own, which elicited amusement from the officers.

The prosecutor in the case, Carlos García Berro, maintained his request for Sorzabal’s sentence following his statement. He explained that in this case, there are only two essential pieces of evidence: the statement made by the ETA member herself and her ‘kantada’. He acknowledged the latter as valid, suggesting that the defence cannot assert that this handwritten note should be acknowledged in certain trials but not in others: “It is Schrödinger’s ‘kantada’.”

He emphasised that the document should be analysed independently of the police statement and the circumstances of the arrest in this regard. He described this type of note as genuine and spontaneous, as it was a “compulsory accountability by ETA.” Consequently, he disassociated this note from the police statement.

He also emphasised specific details about her, including the fact that she was recruited by her companion, Iñaki Tellechea, who was also a member of the gang, to join ETA in 1994.

Nevertheless, Sorzabal’s defence, which initiated its report by advocating for a complete acquittal, underscored that this is a case in which the detainee was subjected to torture, that a handwritten note containing an account of her statements at the police station is included as evidence, and that if this rant is attributed to Sorzabal, it cannot be used to secure her conviction due to the violation of her constitutional rights.

Consequently, he expressed his scepticism that Sorzabal would have composed that note if she had not been tortured and suggested that it is challenging to legalise evidence of this nature when the detainee’s fundamental rights have been violated. He added a final issue after elucidating the procedural loopholes that complicate the validity of the evidence: if it were a confession, it would also be invalid because it was made without the presence of a counsel and without the knowledge of her rights.

“The nullity of the evidence is the only viable alternative.” He also stated that they are attempting to convict using null evidence and a handwritten note that has been inadequately translated and misinterpreted.

Sorzabal is accused of placing an incendiary device at the Altet Airport in Elche (Alicante) on July 29th, 1995, according to the Public Prosecutor’s indictment. At 12:45 p.m. on that day, a cleaning lady was “emptying the trash can located in the tunnel connecting the parking lot with the passenger arrivals area” when she “observed a bag containing a package containing cables and a battery.”

“After being notified, the State Security Forces and Corps proceeded to cordon off the area, and the Tedax deactivated the device, which turned out to be composed of a digital clock, a 9-volt battery, 500 grammes of the explosive substance Ameritol, an electric detonator, and some cables,” according to the prosecutor’s office information.

The information provided indicates that “no personal or property damage occurred, even though the explosive device was placed with the aim of causing maximum damage to people and public and private property.”

This marks the second occasion in which Sorzabal has been dragged before the court this year. The former ETA leader was tried for an October 1995 attack at the Irún border crossing (Guipúzcoa) that damaged the Spanish customs office at the end of last February. She is currently facing a 12-year prison sentence for this offence.

Sorzabal, who is currently awaiting her sentencing, denied “everything” during her statement as the accused. The statement also examined the accused’s “kantada,” which includes assaults that, at the time of their recording, had no clear perpetrator, such as the two aforementioned.

The manuscript that the former gang leader recounted “is everything” she “was made to memorise, with every detail” at the police station maintained.

The significance of this “kantada” is that it references attacks that have not been prosecuted or ascribed, such as the one that occurred against a Mapfre branch in 1993. This is precisely the reason why the tribunal did not concentrate on the Irún attack, but rather on the validation or dismantling of the document’s content.

A chatbot that is assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance communication and access to resources and services for both residents and travellers, through a regular and harmonised open procedure is proposed by Benidorm Council. The council will advertise this project for tender as part of the initiatives outlined in the “Benidorm Vision 360” Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan. The project’s basic budget is €327,349.58, according to Mayor Toni Pérez.

The mayor of the tourist capital of the Valencian Community stated that the objective of the development of this chatbot is to “provide information and assistance efficiently and accessibly through a conversational virtual assistant, implementing advanced artificial intelligence technologies.”

As stated in the tender documents, this virtual assistant must “provide detailed and up-to-date tourist information on local attractions, events, and services; facilitate interaction with municipal services, ensuring accessibility and multilingualism; integrate with the City Council’s existing digital platforms to optimise the user experience; and ensure informational consistency.” Additionally, it must ensure that this solution is scalable, allowing for its future evolution and integration with other municipal tools.

The mayor emphasised the “improvement in information, experience, and user satisfaction” that this tool will provide to the City Council. A chatbot enables “real-time responses to queries about transport, accommodation, tourist attractions, cultural events, municipal procedures, and environmental information,” providing citizens and tourists with a dependable tool that can be accessed from any internet-connected device.

A variety of languages

It also enables the dissemination of information that is more inclusive, accessible, and multilingual, which is “essential for Benidorm due to the large influx and diversity of tourists it attracts.” Lastly, this tool will also facilitate the advancement of transparency and citizen engagement, as well as its integration with the DTI Platform and other municipal open data systems. This will enable the City Council to refine its tourism, cultural, and environmental strategies by generating metrics and indicators based on user interaction with the ‘chatbot’ and orienting them towards the genuine needs of the community and visitors.

The Parks and Gardens brigades of the Elche City Council can take comfort in the fact that the service they have been providing has been gradually outsourced. A new contract that is presently being tendered, which is similar to the one that was already signed in 2024, guarantees them “extra” work. This year, the municipal government plans to acquire over 22,000 flowers, plants, and shrubbery of up to 150 distinct species to enhance the city’s aesthetic appeal, a practice that has been a defining characteristic of Pablo Ruz since his appointment as Mayor in June 2023. More than €88,000 will be allocated from public funding for this purpose.

Last year, a contract was awarded to a company in Valladolid in June, with a value of just over €82,600. In February of last year, a decision was made to acquire additional flowers, plants, and shrubbery, totalling just over €8,000. This was due to the fact that there were no additional plants to be planted and the contract was set to expire in June. In other words, they completed the entire year’s worth of plantings in just eight months, but they believed it was worthwhile to acquire additional plants.

Complaint filed by the PSOE

The Ruz administration has acquired additional flowers in addition to this one. Councillor Patricia Macià has lodged a complaint alleging that the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) submitted €60,000 in purchases from nurseries to the Anti-Corruption Office in 2024 without a contract. In December 2023, the Socialists also discovered an additional €40,000 in purchases that were dispersed across flower and plant enterprises.

This new contract is anticipated to be implemented in June. However, it is not the sole ornamental plant initiative for 2025. The newspaper reported that another contract is being negotiated with a company to oversee the maintenance of all gardening and replacements in the Municipal Park. This is similar to the work being conducted on the Ronda Sur for the Elx Oasis project, which includes grass meadows.

Mayor Ruz disregards the opposition’s criticism, particularly that of Socialist spokesperson Héctor Díez, concerning the expenditures on flowers and their maintenance. In a plenary session, Díez denounced the payment of nocturnal overtime to water plants, which he regards as a “waste of public funds.” The governing team did not contest the accusation. It is possible that they intend to maintain this policy.

“Significant pressure”

What is the reason for the increased demand for plants? In accordance with the contract document, “it is due to the ornamental necessity to enhance the city’s living conditions.” These plants are subjected to a significant amount of stress in the urban environment, as they are constantly plagued by pests and diseases, as well as vandalism, accidents, and damage from trenching or other construction activities. This leads to a relatively high mortality rate among these plants, necessitating the implementation of campaigns to replace shrub species and floral plants in order to preserve the municipal plant heritage.

The City Council is not economising on plants and will acquire a diverse array of species, including shrubs, bushes, and subshrubs, climbers, ground cover plants, perennial plants, roses, seasonal flowers, and native plants for revegetation. With the exception of herbaceous plants and seasonal floral plants, which will be guaranteed for one month, a six-month guarantee is required. The plants must be delivered to the Municipal Nursery in a state of readiness for planting; in reality, the contract stipulates that transport conditions must be maintained to prevent dehydration. When would you like to plant them?

Fifteen days

The City Council specifies a five-day deadline for the delivery of the material if it is accessible at the company’s facilities, or a 15-day deadline if it is not. The technicians are requesting the ability to inspect the nurseries themselves in order to verify the quality of the material they are receiving. Additionally, they are requesting the ability to divide deliveries according to the municipal program’s forecasts. For instance, this involves associating a particular flower or plant with a particular season. This would be the case for the chrysanthemums in the vicinity of All Saints’ Day.