The President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezdefended this Wednesday for the first time the legal reform which will involve the release of ETA prisoners earlier than expected. During his appearance before the Congress of Deputies, Sánchez declared that “there is no reduction of sentences.”
“What is done is to take into account the years that prisoners have served abroad, in accordance with European regulations,” he explained. “Those who were sentenced to 30 years will serve 30 years. And those who were sentenced to 10 years will serve 10 years. There are no reductions,” he insisted.
The reform, however, modifies the prison horizon of dozens of ETA detainees. In the case of Francisco Javier Garcia Gaztelupseudonym Txapotefor example, will have his prison term reduced by six years. Miguel Ángel Blanco’s killer completed his sentence in 2031, but he could now be released from prison in a few months.
Sánchez, for his part, assured that the bill was a mandatory transposition. Even if this is true, the amendment that allows this was introduced by Add in the parliamentary process and was not included in the text sent by the Government to the Congress of Deputies.
This amendment went unnoticed by the majority of deputies who worked on legal reform. Even though the leaders of the PSOE and the government were aware of the effects this would have, they did not even inform their deputies. The opposition didn’t realize it either and PP and Vox voted for it. It is now too late to maneuver and prevent its entry into force.
The Government could withdraw the text, currently in the Senate, but as it already showed on Tuesday, it does not intend to do so. Despite this, Feijóo kept trying to convince Sánchez to do it.
From the podium and in the presence of the senator at headquarters Marimar Blancosister of Miguel Angel BlancoFeijóo demanded that Sánchez “remove the law that cancels more than 300 years of prison for those convicted of ETA terrorism.” “If you have even a minimum of conscience left, I ask you to reconsider your decision,” said the PP leader.
Sánchez, however, showed no signs of giving in. On the contrary, he took advantage of the PP’s mistake of voting for it to attack the opposition. “Do you know what you are voting for or not?” he asked, before describing the popular parliamentary group as “clumsy”.
“I don’t know if they know what they’re voting for or not. Or if they know what they’re voting for and then they see the reaction and blame others,” he added. “Did they rush you or is your group even clumsier than it seems? With you, you never know where lies end and incompetence begins,” he said.
Sánchez said the PP was “perfectly aware of what was being approved,” which is unlikely, and he now accuses Feijóo of “passing the buck.” The reform “was the subject of seven months of parliamentary processing, the deadline for tabling amendments was extended up to 11 times and they voted for each time”, he added.
