According to the information provided by EiTB, there are no Basque prisoners sentenced to prison in prisons under Madrid. In the Spanish State there are 1,393 Basque prisoners and prisoners. Of these, 7 per cent serve sentences in prisons located between 400 and 600 kilometres from Euskal Herria and 60 per cent serve sentences in prisons between 150 and 400 kilometres. However, only 33 per cent of inmates (786 persons) are in prisons in the Basque Country. In the French State, 8 out of 10 Basque prisoners are already at a distance of 400 kilometres.

The Sare platform has pointed out that the absence of Basque prisoners in Andalusia is a step forward, but that the end of the policy of remoteness will occur "through the progression of the degrees". There are currently six Basque prisoners (3%) in the first grade; 157 (85%) in the second grade; and 13 (7%) in the third grade, according to data provided by EITB. Sare spokesman Inaxio Oiarzabal has warned this medium that "leaving the first ranks behind is the way to move from emergency penitentiary policy to ordinary law".

July approaches

On 1 July, the Spanish Government repatriated three Basque prisoners and brought four of them to Euskal Herria. Andoni Murga, Jon Zubiaurre and Liher Aretxabaleta were taken to Martutene and Zaballa. On the other hand, Jesús Mari Etxeberria, Daniel Pastor, Iñaki Bilbao and Óscar Barrera, who were in the Andalusian prison of Puerto III, were approached from the first to the second grade.

Transfer of prison powers

On 10 May, the Spanish Government and the Basque Government signed the transfer of competence in prison matters. The three CAV prisons – Basauri, Zaballa and Martutene – will be available to the Basque Government from 1 October. In Gipuzkoa, the Martutene prison will be closed to traffic, but the Basque Government will manage the new prison to be built in Zubieta.