Otamendi Denounces Torture

As more information about the Egunkaria case is disclosed more and more evidence about Madrid's dirty war against the Basque society comes to light.

Reporters Without Borders, a conservative group that claims to defend the press freedom has been unreachable regarding the abduction of the ten Basques by the Spanish repressive forces.

This note regarding the torture suffered by Martxelo Otamendi has been published by The Independent:

Police tortured me, Basque editor claims

By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid
27 February 2003


A Basque journalist detained for alleged links with Eta separatists has claimed he and his colleagues were tortured in Madrid by the Spanish Interior Ministry's police.

Marcelo Otamendi, editor in chief of the Basque-language daily Egunkaria, which was closed last week because of suspected Eta links, said yesterday he was tortured during an all-night interrogation session in the cells of the paramilitary civil guard.

The claims have further raised the tension between the Basque country and Madrid. The justice minister of the autonomous Basque government, Joseba Azkarraga, demanded that Mr Otamendi's allegations be fully investigated. "When a newspaper editor denounces ill-treatment, you can't just look the other way," he said. "You have to take action."

But Angel Acebes, Spain's Interior Minister, angrily dismissed the claims as "totally false" and "criminal" and said he would open legal proceedings against those who made them. "In this country, the only ones who violate basic human rights are Eta, who torture and kill," he said.

Mr Otamendi was among the paper's 10 executives and directors detained last Thursday. He was released on Tuesday on 30,000 (20,500) bail. Yesterday he said he was repeatedly tortured during questioning from midday Monday until Tuesday morning.

"They twice forced a plastic bag over my head, made me crouch naked, and pointed an unloaded pistol against my temple, whilst constantly hurling insults about Basque culture and Basque politicians," he said.

Five of the 10 detained were refused bail on Tuesday, suspected of being Eta members or collaborators. The judge said they might abscond "for personal reasons or as a result of suggestions or orders". Four detainees, including Mr Otamendi, were bailed. The 10th detainee, Egunkaria's former editor Pello Zubiria, is in hospital in Madrid, recovering from a suicide attempt at the weekend.

Mr Otamendi, who denies any link with Eta, said fellow executive Javier Alegria had also been subjected to "the bag", and Juan Maria Torrealdai, aged 60, chairman of the directors, was savagely beaten. "Their treatment was absolutely cruel," he said. "They treated us like rats." Mr Alegria is being investigated over the radical nationalist newspaper Egin, banned five years ago in a case still awaiting trial. Mr Torrealdai is a Basque linguist. They are still in jail.

Their detention order was signed by the National Court judge Juan del Olmo who cited internal Eta documents seized by police between 1990, the year Egunkaria was founded, and 1992. These documents constituted " incriminating indications" that Egunkaria belonged to a "terrorist project" and "supported and promoted terrorist ideology", Judge del Olmo's indictment, quoted in yesterday's press, says.

Police extracted the documents from the computers of Eta leaders, including its commander, Jose Luis Alvarez Santacristina, detained in France in 1992. They demonstrate economic links between the organisation and the newspaper, Mr del Olmo says in his indictment.

The documents published in the press yesterday indicate Eta was extremely interested in the creation of a Basque-language daily, and mentioned names of people they favoured to run it. They also discuss the possible transfer of shares from Egin to the company behind Egunkaria.

Mr Azkarraga said the case against the men contained "no concrete charges", rather "general accusations based on police reports from 10 or 12 years ago that bear no relation to the paper's operation in recent years".

The Interior Minister condemned the Basque government's 1.7m subsidy last year for Egunkaria Basque for newspaper as "absolutely intolerable, equivalent to subsidising Eta". But the Basque government said it would continue supporting Basque-language media.

Noticed how the reporter Elizabeth Nash used Madrid's lame excuse to cover up the reason why Peio Zubiria had to hospitalized after being tortured?

Elizabeth Nash is obviously in Angel Acebes' payroll.

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