- The Constitutional Court of Spain unanimously approved the non-retrial of the Bateragune case as a precautionary measure. This was requested by the defense attorney, Iñigo Iruin, in an appeal before the National Court.
Last December, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that the defendants in the Bateragune case should be re-tried from scratch. The defence, however, lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Court (TC) on the grounds that it violates the rights of these persons who must be re-tried, an appeal which the latter admitted to proceedings two weeks ago. It has now communicated – as EFE has reported – that it suspends the Supreme Court’s decision to hold a new trial, at least until nothing is resolved on that appeal.
The five accused in Bateragune totaled the prison sentence imposed by the Spanish National High Court in 2011. In particular, Miren Zabaleta, Arkaitz Rodríguez and Sonia Jacinto served six years and Arnaldo Otegi and Rafa Díez served six and a half years in prison.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Strasbourg, suspended these penalties in 2018, and the Supreme ordered the re-trial.