The Third Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court has confirmed in its terms the order of Judge María Tardón who prosecuted six historical leaders of the terrorist group ETA in July for one of the more than 300 crimes that remain unsolvedthe execution of businessman Francisco Arratiel, in 1997, with a shot to the back of the head.
In an order notified this Wednesday, the magistrates reject that the crime has prescribed and therefore cannot be prosecuted, as alleged by the appeals of Mikel Albisu (alias ‘Mikel Antza’), Ignacio Miguel Gracia Arregui (Iñaki de Rentería), Soledad Iparraguirre (Antboto) and José Javier Arizcuren Ruiz (Kantauri), who had been joined by the defenses of Xabier García Gaztelu (Txapote) and Irantzu Gallastegui (Amaia).
For the Chamber, given that the case was reopened in November 2013 “after the appearance of new evidence” and has continued until the indictment “without a break in continuity”, the 20-year limitation period established by the legislation to prosecute this type of crimes. And, in any case, “does not appear clearly” which the doctrine of the Supreme Court requires that the matter has expired. They will have to plead it again when, when the day comes, the trial begins with the processing of preliminary issues.
The magistrates also indicate that neither the accusations nor the defenses have included the summary records that support their arguments for or against the prescription, a detail that they keep in mind when making their decision, which is in line with the criterion that they had defended. the Prosecutor’s Office, in favor of taking the case to trial.
The allegations of statute of limitations are thus dismissed and the indictment that put an end to the investigation is confirmed with the conclusion that the six participated in one way or another in that attack, whether in the material execution of the crime, as attributed to Txapote and Amaia in the context of their membership in the Donosti command, whether in responsibility for it, which is attributed to Kantauri, Iñaki de Rentería, Anboto, and Mikel Antza, while who were then members of the ETA executive committee. As stated an ETA member as a protected witness In the National Court, at that time, the ‘zuba’ or leadership of the terrorist group ordered “selective” murders.
Arratibel’s is one of the more than 300 ETA crimes that remain unsolved. He was executed with a shot to the back of the head on February 11, 1997 in Tolosa (Guipúzcoa), presumably by Amaia and Txapote, who had tried to hide behind a wig and a mustache. He was 44 years old at the time, he was the owner of the Master Catering company and had been in the spotlight for some time.
In fact, when he was 19 years old he was shot in the leg when struggling with one of the ETA members who tried to kidnap his father in retaliation for not complying with the so-called revolutionary tax, according to the Victims of Terrorism Foundation. Years later, Arratibel would participate as a mediator in the rescue of Emiliano Revilla, which placed him in the target. A year before the execution, terrorists had tried to assassinate him by placing a bomb at the door of his company. It did not explode due to an electrical failure.
#historic #ETA #leaders #trial #murder #businessman #Francisco #Arratibel
