The Fourth Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court accepted the free dismissal of the trial against María Soledad Iparraguirre, Anboto, member of ETA, for the kidnapping and assassination of the PP councilor of Ermua Miguel Ángel Blanco in July 1997 , considering that his supposed responsibility as a member of the ETA leadership that he was at the time would have expired.
In an order, the magistrates of the Fourth Section of the Criminal Chamber thus accept the appeal of Anboto’s defense against his prosecution in which he alleged that from the moment the crime was committed on July 13, 1997 until the filing of the complaint against her for responsibility for the crime, on February 6, 2022, 25 years had passed, while the limitation period established by law is 20 years.
The Prosecutor’s Office shared its position, the same as it affirmed for the rest of the former ETA leaders who were also prosecuted before the Central Court of Instruction number 6 because they participated in the decision to assassinate Blanco and because, anyway, they had the power to avoid it and they didn’t do it. They are Miguel Albisu Iriarte, “Mikel Antza”, and Ignacio de Gracia Arregui, “Iñaki de Rentería”. Their appeals, which were presented jointly, will be resolved in a separate resolution.
However, the arguments already made by the Chamber regarding Anboto already give an indication of what the Fourth Section will say regarding the other two. “The appeal launched must be accepted, because otherwise the principles of legality, legal certainty, non-retroactivity of non-favorable sanctions norms and prohibition of the arbitrariness of public authorities would be violated, precisely for the defense of Rule of law than others “They tried to take us through acts of subversion of the constitutional order, destabilization of political or economic structures and social terror which have not been completely overcome”, explain the magistrates .
The exceptionality of the Parot doctrine
They explain that contrary to what is supported by private and popular accusations (Popular Party, Association of Victims of Terrorism, Villacisneros Foundation and Dignidad y Justicia, which filed a complaint against Anboto for these events), in the judicial system and in jurisprudence, there are no resolutions that support their thesis that the longer statutes of limitations included in a legal reform after the kidnapping of Miguel Ángel Blanco can be applied because the crime had not “expired” when he entered in force.
“As the Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated during the hearing held, in resolving this appeal we must respect the provisions of criminal law and the jurisprudence that interprets it, to avoid the disastrous consequences caused by the application of the so-called “The Parot Doctrine”, which was later repealed by the European Court of Human Rights, adds the resolution to emphasize that criminal laws are not retroactive. At the time of the murder, the statute of limitations was 20 years and that is what needs to be considered.
