Spanish Court Denies Iratxe Sorzabal Provisional Petition for Freedom
- After serving 7 years of conviction in the French State, on 9 September France handed over to Spain Iratxe Sorzabal, a Basque political prisoner. In February the Spanish Court sentenced him to 24 and a half years ' imprisonment. The Sorzabal lawyers have appealed against this ruling and have asked the judge to release it until he makes a decision on it. The National High Court disregards the petition and Sorzabal is forced to remain in prison on a provisional basis.
Inmate Iratxe Sorzabal is accused of participating in the ETA attack in Gijón (Spain) and is in Estrema prison. Sorzabal reported torture at the trial.
Berria has announced that the lawyers have appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court for the application of the Atristain doctrine. Xabier Atristain was provisionally released in February, because Strasbourg considered that, in the absence of a trustworthy lawyer in isolation, his rights had been violated.
Sorzabal and his mother Mari Nieves Díaz have discussed the issue of torture in the documentary Bi arnasa that they released in June. The trailer is: