Another Basque Prisoner Murdered!

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Tuesday November 01, 2005 23:16 by Basque solidarity

Murder of Basque Political Prisoner: Jose Angel Altzuguren Perurena

Body of Basque prisoner Altzuguren has now arrived in Vera de Bidasoa this afternoon

The corpse of the Basque prisoner, who was found hanged at a Spain's jail on Monday, will arrive in his hometown at 3:30 pm, where his acquaintances will pay homage to Altzuguren. Besides, association pro-Basque politics' prisoners Askatasuna will demonstrate in Pamplona/Iruña to condemn this incident, at 1:00 pm in front of headquarters of Conservative PSN and at 7:00 pm in front of headquarters of Basque Socialist PSE-EE in Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastian and in front of headquarters of French Conservative UMP in Baiona (Bayonne).

Jose Angel Altzuguren Perurena, aka Kotto, who was serving a sentence due to his links with armed group ETA, was found hanged in his cell at Soria's prison (central Spain) on Monday. The body was taken to a hospital in order to carry out an autopsy.

The Civil Guard and the national police arrested Altzuguren last October 22nd together with Imanol Larrañaga and Ainara Fresneda so that they could served the sentence imposed by the Spanish High Court. The three detainees of Vera de Bidasoa and Lesaka (Navarre) were sentenced to five to seven years of imprisonment, charged with helping ETA members cross the Spanish-French States' border.

Altzuguren, who was 39 years old and former town councillor of Basque Nationalist left-wing EH in his hometown Vera de Bidasoa, was sentenced to five years and 18 months due to his involvement to the "border device" of ETA. Last Friday he was moved from Iruña's prison to Soria's.

Previously Altzuguren was arrested in March 2001 and he was on remand until January 2005, so he had already served half of the sentence.

Prison sources explained that he was found dead at 8:00 am, when the staff found him hanged from the heating pipes by his own sheets.

Autopsy

Altzuguren's lawyer and relatives moved yesterday to Soria where the autopsy would be carried out. When finished, it is expected that the corpse would be taken to Vera de Bidasoa at around 3:30 pm, when his acquaintances would pay homage to Altzuguren.

Spanish government's sources have informed that the Basque prisoner was under treatment with ansiolitics due to psychological problems caused by his imprisonment.

Association pro-Basque politics' prisoners Askatasuna denounced Altzuguren's death and pointed Spanish government’s prison policy as the cause of this death. It described the incident as a "Spanish state's crime" and stated that it was necessary to demand the political status of Basque prisoners.


The organisation gathered yesterday to condemn this incident and today it will gather again at 1:00 pm in front of headquarters of Conservative PSN and at 7:00 pm in front of headquarters of Basque Socialist PSE-EE in Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastian and in front of headquarters of French Conservative UMP in Baiona (Bayonne).


"Mere coincidence"

On the same day a 71 year-old prisoner, jailed for abusing minors,
was also found hanged in his cell at the same prison.

According to Spanish government department in Soria, Altzuguren "did not even keep eye contact" with the other dead prisoner. Therefore, the both deaths were a "mere coincidence" that had "no other explanation", the aforementioned sources added.

An inspector of prisons was at Soria's prison yesterday afternoon in order to carry out an investigation.

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New State Murder of Basque Political Prisoner
The Basque volunteer Jose Angel Altzuguren has appeared dead in Soria Jail (Western Spanish State). Tomorrows editions of the newspapers perhaps will dedicate a brief summary to it but the extermination of revolutionary political dissidents will go on. The ‘democrats’, the gutter journalists and the repressive forces will ensure that will happen. Altzuguren is not the first political prisoner exterminated in jail, and won’t be the last. It’s not the moment for big complaints or alterations.

We only say – and demand – that until the fascist Law Of Parties and other special tribunal laws of repression will be scraped, that until the right of self determination and independence of the oppressed nations will be gained from the Spanish state, that until the political and trade union freedoms will be fulfilled, that until a total and general amnesty for all political prisoners and reprieve for prisoners for social causes the right of asylum and citizenship for all refuges and immigrants, the removal of Spain from NATO and other imperialist militarized organisations, the revolutionaries will carry on fighting and will carry on being imprisoned, assassinated or exterminated by the terrorist Spanish State. As Jose Angel Altzuguren was yesterday. To avoid other massacres and exterminations of the revolutionary prisoners is in our hands.
Jose Angel, Basque Volunteer, your blood is seed of freedom!!

Total Amnesty for all Political Prisoners!!
International Red Aid S.R.I.
Association of Family and Friends of Political Prisoners A.F.A.P.P.

October 31st 2005