On 7 June it is 50 years since the death of Etxebarrieta. In a couple of hours there were the first two deaths of the armed confrontation between ETA and the state: Etxebarrieta kills civilian guard José Pardines and Civil Guard Etxebarrieta. The UPV/EHU and the Society of Aranzadi presented the report on the death of Etxebarrieta on the day of half a century. The report challenges the official version, according to which Etxebarrieta died in a shooting between civil guards and ETA members in Bentaundi de Tolosa (Gipuzkoa). “Despite the incident, nothing explains Etxebarrieta’s shot in the back. Consequently, Etxebarrieta may be the victim of extrajudicial execution,” says Eneko Etxebarria, professor of procedural law at the UPV.

Etxebarria himself, the researcher and historian of Aranzadi Javier Buces, and the relatives of Etxebarrieta, Kepa and Aitziber Ibaibarriga have been present in the presentation. The report is complemented by a “historical investigation and legal analysis of the fact”, “from the perspective of human rights that could constitute serious violations,” explains the Aranzadi Society. Two main sources have been used to clarify what has happened: witness documentation and testimonies.

Documents and testimonies

As for the documentation, the information in the military file and the information in case 16/68 are analysed. Historian Buces reports that they have had “difficulties” in analyzing this information. He explains that the documentation in case 16/68 has been “decisive”. It contains “contradictory” statements by civil guards. There is also the report of the medical court, which the members of the UPV/EHU and Aranzadi explained that Etxebarrieta had shot in the back and was about to fall to the ground. Buces stresses that the institution that murdered Etxebarrieta and investigated Etxebarrieta's death is the same: Civil Guard.

Several testimonies have been analysed to complete the report: At the time of the death of Etxebarrieta were Iñaki Sarasketa and Eduardo Osa, of the relatives who came in search of the body and of a person who was in a work center located 200 meters away. This latest testimony was collected in 2019 and states that “Etxebarrieta was shot and he didn’t shoot.” Buces points out that the other testimonies also agree with the forensic doctor. He adds that relatives saw a “doctor” in the debate with the civil guards, which may explain that Etxebarrieta’s autopsy report is “very short” of Pardines.

Official investigation

The authors of the report rely on the second article of the European Convention on Human Rights to draw the conclusions of the study. According to the article, the Government had two responsibilities: to investigate what had happened and to avoid its execution. Etxebarria explains that the Government breached the first responsibility because it investigated the investigation of military justice. There is also “great odds” that the second one was broken, according to how Etxeberreta was shot.

In view of all this, the authors of the report call for an official investigation to be initiated, ensuring that there is scope for this. The institutions also call for the death of Etxebarrieta to be recognized as a violation of human rights. Family members state that the report will be presented to the Basque Government's Valuation Committee for this purpose.