Ask France for permission to continue the criminal process against ‘Juanvi’
MADRID, 3 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The National Court judge investigating the attack perpetrated by ETA against the Santa Pola (Alicante) barracks in August 2002 has agreed to issue a European arrest warrant (OED) against the former ETA chief Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi, alias ‘Juanvi’, with the aim that the French authorities give the green light so that he can take a statement as being investigated for this matter as the alleged perpetrator and prosecute him.
In his car, to which Europa Press has had access, the chief magistrate of the Central Court of Instruction number 6, Manuel García Castellón, recalls that Olarra Guridi was, according to the police reports, “the person in charge of the military apparatus of the gang at the time of the commission of the attack”, which resulted in the murder of Silvia Martínez Santiago, six years old, and Cecilio Gallego Alaminos, 57 years old, and left up to 51 injured.
The judge recalls that this former head of ETA was already summoned to appear for these events in August 2022 after the admission of the complaint signed by the lawyer Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Arias when he exercised the legal representation of Dignity and Justice. Then, Olarra Guridi invoked the principle of specialty not to answer for these facts since he had been handed over by France for other reasons.
Thus, the judge points out in his order that in order to prosecute him for the attack in Santa Pola “it is necessary to issue a second European arrest warrant”, which is why he proceeds to agree. Legal sources consulted by Europa Press, explain that once the prosecution takes place, this would be the first of an ETA chief for mediate authorship –commission of a crime through another person–.
García Castellón explains in his resolution that Olarra Guridi served as head of the military apparatus since February 22, 2001, after the arrest of Javier García Gaztelu, alias ‘Txapote’, and that he did so together with his sentimental partner, Ainhoa ??Múgica, alias ‘Olga’. He remembers that he was in charge until September 16, 2002, when he was arrested by the French police in Talance (France).
He stresses that, from that position of chief, “he was in charge of issuing the orders to commit attacks on the commandos operating in Spain, thus being responsible for this structure, also known as ‘Otsagi’.”
In addition, the judge indicates that the police report on the case shows that he also had responsibilities in the leadership of the ETA political apparatus. “Consequently, as the leader of ETA that controlled the military apparatus of the terrorist organization, he was integrated into its ‘Executive Committee’ on the date of the attack against the Civil Guard Headquarters in Santa Pola (August 4, 2002)”, Add.
Add to this that the action against that house-barracks was claimed by ETA in a statement made public in the newspaper Gara, and recall that for these acts the ETA members Oscar Celarain ‘Peio’ and Andoni Otegui ‘Iosu’ were sentenced, in a Judgment of May 17, 2012 issued by the Second Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, as direct perpetrators of two consummated crimes of murder, 51 crimes of attempted murders and one crime of terrorist havoc.
After this, he stresses that it is pertinent that he be called to testify as being investigated because “his integration into the executive leadership of the organization has been proven, for his alleged participation in two crimes of terrorist murder (…), fifty-one crimes of attempted terrorist murder (…) as well as a crime of terrorist havoc”.
Precisely, this Friday García Castellón will also take a statement as being investigated the former heads of the terrorist group María Soledad Iparraguirre, alias ‘Anboto’, and Ainhoa ??Múgica, alias ‘Olga’.
Last December 2022, the magistrate received a police report from the General Information Commissioner of the National Police in which he highlighted the “total control” exercised by the leadership of the terrorist organization when the attack took place.
In their report, the investigators reviewed the references in the Police regarding the six ETA leaders who have been under investigation since last July in this procedure: ‘Juanvi’; ‘Olga’; ‘Navarrese’; Mikel Albisu, aka ‘Mikel Antza’; Ramón Sagarzazu, alias ‘Ramontxo’, and ‘Anboto’.
Already last October, the Dignity and Justice Association sent the judge a 2014 police report that also highlighted the “total control” that the leadership of the terrorist organization had of “even the last of the murderous pawns” in charge of committing The attacks.
At the end of November, the Civil Guard sent another report to the judge in which it included a detailed analysis of ETA’s terrorist activity between 1994 and 2004: it had approximately 1,000 militants and carried out 480 terrorist actions with a total of 101 fatalities. .
