This measure, signed on the morning of 13 May, will "progressively" recover the visits, communications and exit permits of prisoners, as explained by the Ministry of the Interior. In the afternoon, however, the law has been the subject of an amendment that states that only movements within the province will be allowed.

The Minister of the Interior, Grande-Marlaska, has argued that this is a measure that has been adopted as a result of the cuts decreed by the coronavirus in the Spanish state. This measure will leave almost all Basque political prisoners without a visit, as only three are in prisons or reception centres in Euskal Herria; Asier Ezeiza, Txus Martin and Ibon Iparragirre. The three are located in Álava, so only the inhabitants of that country will be able to visit them.

With regard to exit permits, the Ministry of the Interior has indicated that they must leave the province where they are incarcerated.

Etxerat and Sare angry

Both associations expressed in a press release their discomfort that the measure taken by the Ministry of the Interior did not affect Basque political prisoners and criticised the lack of "progress". In the case of the French State, a visit less than 100 kilometres from the prison can be enjoyed every week, since only one visit to the prison will be allowed.

SARE has indicated that this measure "does not respect the principle of equality of prisoners". In fact, despite the fact that almost all Basque prisoners are incarcerated in first phase provinces, their relatives will not be able to go to their visits. “The fact that family members come to prisons in Phase 1 provinces does not mean mass displacement and, therefore, the objective of avoiding inter-provincial mobility is not affected by the authorization of these movements,” he said.

For this reason, they have asked the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions to "put an end to the emergency measures and the policy of remoteness".