Barandalla's detention took place on 1 September 2007 and was imprisoned in Nanterre prison. He is charged with a crime of belonging to ETA's logistical apparatus and is charged at the trial with crimes of association of wrongdoers, kidnapping for terrorist purposes by firearms, possession of weapons, explosives and false documentation.

He was sentenced to eighteen years in prison by the special courts in Paris, and to two-thirds of his sentence. The Etxarri prisoner had a DPS status in jail that had to be taken care of especially until 2018, so special security measures were applied to him. Eleven other political prisoners remain in the prison that has left Barandalla, including Etxarri Jon Gurutz Maiza, who is in prison.

On 18 February 2013, a trial against ten Basque citizens for their membership in ETA began in a court in Paris. Among them was Barandalla. At the beginning of the trial, the prisoners’ spokesman read the text “for a just and lasting dialogue and peace” and regretted “the damage caused to citizens who have no responsibility in the confrontation”.

In prison, Etxarri was a father and, based on the birth of his son, created the song and promoted the project “Seme”, to denounce the situation of children with backpacks.