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Former commander of ETA, has denied any involvement in the 1995 attack on airport

Original Alicante Airport

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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.


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Costa Blanca

Missing man’s body found in Crevillente

Guardia Civil

The man who went missing in Crevillent has been found. His body was discovered by the Guardia Civil this week, and an autopsy has verified his identity.

An alert was sent out on Tuesday, March 18th. The SOS Missing Persons Association was in charge of distributing the case notice and alerting people to the man’s vulnerability via its social media accounts.

No one has been able to discover him alive despite searching for them. His body was discovered on Wednesday, March 25th, at approximately 9 a.m.

Identification has not been done at the scene of the body, which was discovered in some bushes in the municipality of Crevillent. The body of the man who vanished eight days prior was identified by the autopsy conducted on Wednesday, March 26th. According to this report, natural causes were the cause of death.

The first 72 hours after a disappearance are “important as they allow for extreme measures to be taken to find the missing person,” according to the group.

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There are a number of reasons for this, including the possibility that the individual may still be in the vicinity of the residence or location where they vanished, particularly in the case of youngsters and the elderly, and the possibility of obtaining evidence that will provide light on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.

“As soon as all necessary steps have been taken and it is certain that a family member has disappeared, the State Security Forces (National Police, Guardia Civil, Local Police, or Regional Security Forces) must be immediately contacted to report the disappearance,” they say.

There, they remind us that, in contrast to what many people think, “it is not necessary to wait 24 or 48 hours” to make these complaints. “The 24-hour thing is a legend,” say National Police Alicante.

“If you suspect the disappearance of a family member or friend who has not done so voluntarily, you should let us know from the very first minute because the first minute is crucial for investigators to have the most relevant and important information,” these same sources stress, repeating the association’s message.

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Firefighters in Alicante try to storm the plenary hall

Alicante Plenary

“We don’t know what would have happened if they had gotten in .” When firefighters tried to attack the plenary hall of Alicante City Hall yesterday, Thursday 27th March, one eyewitness characterised their level of anxiety as follows. In the end, local police officers stopped them from going inside.

The plenary session in March has turned into one of the bloodiest in recent memory. An attack attempt by municipal firefighters who were protesting their working conditions was the cause.

During the plenary session, the demonstrators yelled, “Barcala, comply,” “Barcala, take off your tie and come to the park,” and “Come here and talk to us.”

They tried to push their way in, and their anger erupted because they weren’t being heard. They were also halted by officers from the Rapid Intervention Task Force of the Local Police. Eventually, they were forced to leave.

The demands for the promised improvements—first, the state of the city’s fire station facilities, and second, compensation for the unusual services required for their work—were the foundation of the violent protest.

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Barcala bemoaned the manner in which these demands were implemented, calling it a “disgrace to the plenary session,” according to Europa Press. Rafa Mas, a spokesman for Compromís, was summoned to order “stirring up the protests.” Mas bemoaned the “precarious situation” and “lack of resources” faced by the city firefighters during his remarks.

PSPV, Vox, EU-Podem, and the rest of the opposition concur that while they do not agree with the “forms” of the firefighters’ protests, they do agree with the “demands” and the “substance.”

Although Silvia Castell, a socialist councillor, has urged the mayor to “listen to them” and “fulfil his promises,” Manolo Copé, a spokesman for EU-Podem, feels that “their demands must be heard” because the mayor “is not up to the task.”


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Moldovan mobster arrested in Torrevieja

A 37-year-old Moldovan male has been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in accordance with an Italian European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Known as “thieves in law,” the detainee belonged to the Russian-Soviet criminal organisation VOR V ZAKONE, which was committed to committing significant crimes.

The arrest happened on February 28th in Torrevieja while Guardia Civil officers were performing a public safety duty. While on patrol, they spotted three people on a restaurant terrace and saw one of them attempting to hide after spotting them. The officers became suspicious of this behaviour and went on to identify him.

After doing technical examinations, the authorities concluded that the person’s Romanian passport, which was of excellent quality, was a fake. After being detained and brought to government facilities, his fingerprints were recognised, proving his identity.

On March 2th, 2022, the Verona Criminal Court sentenced the detainee to 11 years in prison for international criminal conspiracy offences of a mafia nature. The detainee was a member of the VOR V ZAKONE organisation, which was committed to committing crimes against people and property using mafia-style intimidation, threats, and violence.

The man had been hiding in Spain since the sentencing, using fictitious paperwork to evade discovery. To ascertain whether the fugitive has committed crimes in Spain, the Guardia Civil is still looking into the matter.

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The detainee was taken to the Court of First Instance in Torrevieja, where he was ordered to be detained until his extradition to Italy.

The Guardia Civil underlines its commitment to combating international crime and deals another blow to organised crime with this operation.


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