A BASQUE separatist convicted of 25 killings is to be extradited to Spain to face a new charge of glorifying terrorism, on foot of a decision by a Belfast judge yesterday.
Recorder Tom Burgess rejected claims by Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos that he will not receive a fair trial and may face harsher punishment for his political beliefs.
De Juana’s lawyers also argued any further imprisonment would be inhumane and could leave him facing death due to his fragile mental health.
But Judge Burgess held that the underlying principle of the European arrest warrant procedure required him to have confidence in the Spanish system of justice. “I am therefore satisfied that there are no grounds for any concern expressed by Mr de Juana that the authorities in Spain would seek to put him on trial for any offence other than that which is included in the warrant, and that in respect of this offence, if convicted and it were minded to impose any period of imprisonment, it would seek to exceed its sentencing powers of two years,” he said.
Mr De Juana (54) who has been living with his wife in west Belfast on bail while fighting extradition, has seven days to lodge an appeal to the ruling.
The Basque, who served more than 21 years in jail for his part in an Eta campaign, is wanted over the contents of a letter read out at a rally in San Sebastian the day after his release in August 2008.
The message was allegedly given in his name, with the charge against him heavily dependent on the Basque phrase aurrrea bolie, which translates literally as “kick the ball forward”.
He faces the possibility of further imprisonment if convicted of the public justification of terrorist actions which caused humiliation and intensified the grief of victims and their relatives.
Lawyers for the accused urged Mr Burgess to refuse the request on several grounds, including that the proceedings constituted an abuse of process because the Spanish prosecuting authorities failed to respond to requests for evidence to help contest the case.
It was also claimed the warrant was issued to punish him for his political beliefs; that it contravened his human rights and that his mental condition was such that it would be unjust or oppressive to extradite him.
During the hearing it was submitted that he was beaten repeatedly and subjected to 17 years’ solitary confinement during a previous imprisonment.