The General Secretary (GS) of the League attended a march for the right of Basque political prisoners to be repatriated to the Basque Country this weekend (2ist June 2008).

The march, held in the Basque city of Irunia/Pamplona, was to protest against the deliberate policy of dispersion of Basque political prisoners by the Spanish state. Today almost 700 prisoners are held at an average distance of 694 kilometres from their homes in the Basque Country.

The Celtic League has pursued a policy of repatriation for prisoners from the Celtic countries for many decades and has passed a number of resolutions related to this topic. The League has also highlighted the Basque political prisoner cause a number of times (see link below):

(voir le site)

Many of the Basque political prisoners have reported being tortured by the authorities while in jail and other have been detained way past their date of appointed release.

Reporting from Irunia/Pamplona, the GS said:

"There were several hundred protesters marching in silence with the friends and family members of prisoners leading the march carrying photos of those jailed. These people were followed by protesters who carried banners calling for the repatriation of Basque political prisoners, their freedom and their right to serve out their jail terms without the threat of torture. The march was accompanied by dozens of very well armed police, despite its peaceful purpose."

A short film of the demonstration can be found at the link below:

(voir le site)

The Celtic League has in the past reminded the British, French and Spanish governments of Rule 17.1 of the (Model) European Prison Rules adopted by the Council of Europe as a benchmark International standard for the treatment of those deprived of their liberty.

Rule 17.1 says: "Prisoners shall be allocated, as far as possible, to prisons close to their homes or places of social rehabilitation."

Clearly in relation to its treatment of Basque prisoners Spain continues to be in breach of Rule 17.1.

Related articles on Celtic News at:

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

23/06/08

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