Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Letter from Patxi Ruiz on the threats and problems of the Murcia II prison

  • Here in its entirety is the letter sent by Patxi Ruiz from the prison of Murcia II. It explains the problems he has had with the prison and the response he has given to meetings in prison against the coronavirus. He wrote the letter before his hospitalization. He is now back in Murcia II prison.
Maiatzaren 23an Iruñean egindako mobilizazioa. (Arg.: X. Letona) Maiatzaren 23an Iruñean egindako mobilizazioa. (Arg.: X. Letona)

03 June 2020 - 09:45

To the Basque people, from Murztia II prison!

This letter is addressed to political prisoners, whatever their institutions, as well as to social activists and/or common prisoners held in detention. The aim of this letter is to denounce the impositions that both the Penitentiary Administration and the Murcia II Prison carry out against the fundamental rights of prisoners, many of them contained in their Spanish Constitution, taking as an excuse the coronavirus pandemic. Let us not delude ourselves, prison is an instrument designed to enclose the victims of the monster called capitalism, those who have been born or have grown up in ghettos and marginalised environments. With the consequences of all this in life, of course: Crime, drug use, etc. At the same time, however, prison was conceived to shut down the political dissent that fights capitalism in all its expressions: the mass struggle, our armed struggle, the trade union, political or social struggle. To enclose all these struggles, walls have been erected so that your corrupt society may have easier to forget the memory of those of us who are prisoners, between oblivion and these walls of destruction.

Without further delay, I would like to point out that some of the prisoners we are in prison in Murcia II are in a situation of total abandonment, which is repeated without exception in the scattered prisons of the Iberian Peninsula, Illes Balears and the Canary Islands, we had in mind to carry out the protests to denounce. This protest should also serve to assert the rights violated. As stated in the prison regulations and in the EC, we have the same rights as the society living on the street “in relative freedom”.

On May 3, in the cork of module 8, where prisoners put ads and other accounts, two DIN A4 sized posters appeared that called to concentrate every day on ALWAYS IN PEACE and SILENCE. The call for concentration was from 09:15 to 09:30 hours in the morning. In it the following claims could be read:

  • Release of seriously ill and incurable prisoners and those on the brink of their execution.

  • Carry out coronavirus tests on all prisoners, as well as on jailers, which have not yet been carried out.

  • Authorize the prisoner to attend the cemetery in the event of the death of a prisoner's relatives, to give the last goodbye to his beloved neighbor with dignity.

  • Provide inmates with means to prevent coronavirus infection, such as gloves, face mask, disinfectant gel, etc.

  • As of March, the visit and re-establishment of headdresses have been suspended in order to be able to be with our family members. If the jailers who are with us every day don't get tests for coronavirus, why don't we have the right to be with our family members?

The call for concentration, quoted above and included in the cork, was made on 4 May, in an absolute, respectful and peaceful silence. Some of the inmates carried vindictive posters, which did not lead to any confrontation. This concentration was continued from 5 to 8 May, as we have just explained.

However, on Saturday, 9 May, the prison police responsible for module 8 was in the yard at 09:00 hours, in a gesture of violence, along with a woman who was at work. However, about 70 prisoners had the courage to move forward with the concentration, as before, without falling into the provocations of those jailers.

That morning, after eating and as we headed for the dungeons, the women's jailer referred to above approached the two political prisoners in the module to take away the demanding posters they had used in the protest. My colleague didn't have any posters, and I had them on my sports bag. That's what I told you. The watchman opened the sport bag and picked up the poster. At that time, I explained to him that he believed that an illegality was being committed and that, supposedly, the fundamental rights of the Spanish Constitution were being violated. Therefore, I asked him for the identification number (which by law must be made available). All this happened at 13:45 hours and was recorded, as there are cameras in the central office and in the hallways.

When the prisoners were in our cells, they opened my door and at 14:05 the two aforementioned vigilantes appeared, showing the sign that took me off and the identification cards. All I did was receive the identification number of the jailer who removed the poster from me. I told the watchman I didn't want his job. The latter, however, told me severely that he would also identify me, “because he gave the order to remove the poster.” As I picked up his identification, he began to threaten me. When I asked him to account for this reason, once again with a threatening tone, he threatened me in the face. Then, the two guards of the jail left me and I stayed alone, in the cell of 71. All this was recorded, as there is a camera on the second floor of the cells, just 5 meters from cell number 71.

As a protest and never as an act of threat, around 17:00 I used a razor blade to self-harm myself and denounce the threatening treatment of the watchman before I mentioned earlier. I made three cuts on my left arm about 6/7 cm. A few minutes later I was taken to the hospital. There, they put me 9 metal staples to heal and close the wounds.

The doctor on the spot, at 17:15 hours, refused to take care of me. He didn't even look at his wounds. I asked him to do the medical report, but he refused, demanding the other officer to drive me to the module. At the time I asked him for the identification number. In addition to giving up, he ordered the official to take “this shit away from his sight.” All this was recorded by the chamber of nursing dependency.

They took me to module 8 and locked me in my room until at 19:00 they opened the door of the cell to be able to go for dinner. I turned to the responsible jailer to give an instance where I explained that the object of the wounds I had inflicted on myself was to denounce and not threaten anyone. The above-mentioned warden, of unfavourable treatment, refused to receive my instance because it warned of the existence of threats against myself.

After dinner we returned to the dungeons about 20:00 hours. I was tired and nervous, so I lay down and sat down descansar.Pero again, although I don’t remember it well, I think it would be 21:00, opened the door and a jailer and a woman appeared, to go down to the room where the workers and social educators do “their work” (always against the rights of the prisoners). At first I refused because that room is used to threaten and beat the prisoners, because in that room there are no cameras. So I let him know, but then I replied that the prison director was waiting for me. So I agreed to go down.

To get into this room you have to go through a small hall in which the cameras are, so you can only prove that I entered the room I just mentioned. In addition to the Director, the Deputy Director of Security and the Head of Service were also present.

We were talking for 20 minutes, and only the director spoke. In the interview, the director threatened me in a very similar way, he told me that I was the head of the concentrations, that they could be considered an attempt to organize the revolt and that all this could have consequences in my prison situation (they have kept me locked for 15 years in closed regime modules, even in isolation galleries, classified in grade 1). I faced their more or less reticent threats to make it clear that concentrations of prisoners are rights enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, such as: Right of assembly, right of expression and others.

He ordered me to put an end to this concentration, which I replied was not in my hand. I went out into the courtyard and told him that I would continue to concentrate, if only one. At that time, the director closed the meeting. I was going to start climbing the ladder to go back to the dungeon, to my back, and I don't know what vigilant, when he said: “This stupid shit doesn’t know that prisoners sometimes lie down and never wake up again.” When I was still walking around my head, I lay in bed, but at 15 minutes, the door of my cell was opened again, as you can see on floor 2 and in the camera that is just a few meters from my cell. Two jails were presented, one woman and the head of service Patricio. I was told to take my affairs, because they would take me to another module. Around 22:00 I was taken to module 6. I'm here.

In line with the above sentence: “This inculcated shit doesn’t know that sometimes the prisoners have gone to bed and never wake up again,” I must point out that during the 15 years I’ve been in lockdown and secluded galleries, I’ve been able to see that some prisoners were dead at dawn in their cells. I have also seen how the judge came to pick up the corpse and I HAVE IT CLEAR, in many cases they have committed suicide without being able to withstand the threats, I am witnessing these threats. On other occasions, they have committed suicide because of psychological problems, but on other occasions, prisons are suspected of having had a direct responsibility. The isolation cells and galleries are spaces of complete impunity against prisoners. The same doubts have arisen when political prisoners have appeared dead. In view of this situation, I will pass on the reasons presented here to Judge Castro, the head of the Central Prison Surveillance Court.

I have a 73-year-old mom and I would never let her torture herself by asking myself whether I've killed myself or whether jailers have done so. That is why I write and publish this letter, so that you can see the reality that we live in prisons, denounce the measures that have not been taken against the coronavirus and know the threats that have been made to me. In conclusion, I would like to express my love for all the fighters who remain standing.


You are interested in the channel: Euskal preso politikoak
2024-11-19 | Jon Torner Zabala
Fermin Muguruza: "I would like to know if Lehendakari Pradales agrees with his Justice Department"
Fermín Muguruza last Saturday offered a concert at Martutene prison, 39 years after ETA members Iñaki Pikabea 'Piti' and Joseba Sarrionandia smoked from jail. Now, following complaints from several people about the concert, the Department of Justice of the Basque Government has... [+]

2024-10-29 | Leire Ibar
Two prisoners in Pamplona have been released on parole
Josune Arriaga and Kontren Sola, respectively, after fourteen and sixteen years in prison, have been released on parole through a decision of the Central Prison Surveillance Judge.

Mikel Globñano (Sare)
"The reform harmonising penalties is a major step in the situation of prisoners"
The European Union agreed in 2008 to recast the sentences of eta prisoners. Spain did not comply with this order. The reform of the law has come. The measure will affect a total of 52 prisoners. Mikel Globñano, a member of the Sare association, has given us the details in the... [+]

According to Sare's calculations
The reform of Law 7/14 would affect 52 prisoners and seven will leave immediately
That is what the Sare partnership announced this Thursday. Attempts have been made so far to ensure that the reform of the law is not effective, but we do not have to vote again in Congress, as the pp intended. This week, therefore, the law will be published in the Official... [+]

Eztizen Artola Iturrate
"We've been so romantic about the case, we're not aware of the consequences that prison can have."
The day has come: Ihintza's father will be released from prison. This is the time for the opening of the novel Pneumak (Txalaparta, 2024), by Eztizen Artola (Bilbao, 1999). From there, the child will grow up with a backpack on his travels to jail to visit his father, in order to... [+]

Recasting EU sanctions will affect 45 Basque prisoners
The revolt, and after overcoming the Spanish Senate, the legal reform to recast the penalties in Europe will go ahead. Thus, the derogation granted by Spain in 2014 to the European directive on the recasting of penalties adopted in 2008 disappears, which will affect 45 Basque... [+]

The National High Court Records the Judgment on Marixol Iparragirre
The magistrates deem the kidnapping and murder of the head of pp. Miguel Ángel Blanco to be prescribed and accuse the public prosecutor of political responsibility of the head of pp. Miguel Ángel Blanco.

2024-09-27 | Ahotsa.info
On 11 January, the traditional national meeting of prisoners will take place in Bilbao.
The motto of the mobilisation called by Sare Herritarra on 11 January in Bilbao will be “The final solution”, and as every year, Sare expects the support of thousands of people.

2024-09-19 | ARGIA
The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country recognizes the right to unemployment to a Basque political prisoner
The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country (TSJPV) has ruled that the third-degree prisoner is entitled to unemployment. The LAB syndicate has considered that the sentence is "a precedent" and a step "on the road to the recognition of the fundamental rights of prisoners".

Locust strike in Zaballa

Since we were transferred to Euskal Herria from the prisons of the Spanish State, in the prison of Zaballa we have found many deficiencies in the field of communication. We have fewer and shorter face-to-face contacts, we have had to make visits to the speaker in poor technical... [+]


Sare urges the Department of Justice and Human Rights of the Basque Government to apply the ordinary prison policy to Basque political prisoners
At the press conference held on 20 August, Sare called on the new Department of Justice of the Basque Government "a more proactive attitude". They have denounced that the standardisation of prisons "is still a long way off", given that of the 148 prisoners "there may be more than a... [+]

They call for the return home of Basque prisoners, exiles and deportees on the beaches
Bakio, Laida, Lekeitio, Mutriku, Orio and Donostia-San Sebastián have been the cities in which ETXERAT has carried out the mobilizations of the beaches. This year the Sare Citizens' Network has joined the demand.

Prisoner Xabier Atristain has been released on parole
Atristain, who has been imprisoned since December last year in third grade, has been serving his sentence at home since last March with the telematic control of his compliance.

Counsellor for Justice of the Basque Government: "ETA prisoners have to recognize that the damage caused was unfair"
Socialist Councillor Maria Jesús San José said that the Basque Government will work to ensure that, when ETA prisoners leave prison, the damage caused is acknowledged and that "the damage caused was unfair" is acknowledged.

Eguneraketa berriak daude