ETA terrorist suspects on trial

The trial will begin today, Thursday, in the National Court, against three alleged ETA terrorists, Ekhiñe Eizaguirre Zubiaurre, Kepa Arkauz Zubillaga and Imanol Jaio Gabiola, in relation to the discovery of a vault with explosive material discovered by chance by a member of the publice in June 2019 in Atauri (Álava).

The Prosecutor’s Office accuses the three of a crime of possession of explosives for terrorist purposes, for which it asks for them two years in jail, plus, for Gabiola, a year and a half for integration into a terrorist organisation.

The reduced nature of these sentences is due, according to the prosecutor in his provisional conclusions brief, to the fact that in the investigation phase “they confessed to the facts as a sign of repentance and absolute disassociation with the terrorist organisation, thereby facilitating the exercise of the criminal action”.

Therefore, everything indicates that the trial will settle with an agreement in accordance with the Prosecutor’s Office in exchange for the recognition of the facts.

According to the prosecutor in his letter, in mid-May 2009, the former leader of the Donosti Ibai Beobide commando, already convicted of these events, after receiving a course in France on the use of explosives and vehicle theft, returned to the Basque Country to create two commands, which they would call Imanol and Ezpala.

For the creation of the Ezpala command, he entrusted Ekhiñe Eizaguirre with the selection of its members, these being the other two accused.

For the development of their terrorist activity, the members of the commando received explosive material that they hid in a hole near the old Maeztu asphalt factory, close to the council of Atauri (Álava), at kilometre 29.7 of the A-132 road.

On February 13, 2010, due to the dismantling of the Donosti command, the defendants fled to France, where Ekhiñe Eizaguirre and Kepa Arkauz remained in the structure of the terrorist organisation, while Imanol Jaio Gabiola disassociated himself from it.

On June 7, 2019, by chance, the hiding place was discovered where the defendants kept at their disposal in two buried drums: 20 kg of ammonium nitrate, half a kilo of penitra, a bag with two kilos of ammonal, 4 litres of nitromethane and powdered aluminium for the manufacture of explosives.

They also found 5 metres of homemade detonating cord, 8 homemade detonators with the ETA anagram and the inscription 0.8, two handmade timers, fourteen pieces of PVC pipe of different gauges and lengths, as well as material and tools for the preparation of artifacts.

Ekhiñe Eizaguirre and Kepa Arkauz were arrested in France in 2013, where they were convicted for their membership of ETA.

The three defendants were arrested in October 2020 for these events and were provisionally released with precautionary measures after testifying before the investigating judge.

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