Iñaki de Juana Chaos
Encyclopedia
José Ignacio de Juana Chaos (born 1955 in Gipuzkoa, Spain
), better known as Iñaki de Juana Chaos, is a member of the Basque separatist group ETA
. He was convicted of killing 25 people in 1987 and was originally sentenced to 3,000 years in prison. As a result of complicated sentencing guidelines, he became eligible for release in late 2004 after only serving 17 years. However, the Spanish Government
prevented his release by accusing him of making terrorist threats in two articles written from prison. In August 2006, he started a hunger strike protesting his continued imprisonment but it ended after sixty-three days. Another hunger strike occurred from November 2006 until March 2007, it ended after he was moved from a hospital in Madrid
to one in his home region of Guipuzcoa. After he left the hospital he was to be placed under house arrest
, but on 6 June 2007, after the end of ETA's ceasefire he was sent to Aranjuez
prison. On 2 August 2008, de Juana Chaos was released from prison.
. His father, Daniel de Juana Rubio, was born in the city of Miranda de Ebro
in the province of Burgos
around 1908. He was a doctor who had also been a decorated military lieutenant on the Francoist side during the Spanish Civil War
. His mother, Esperanza Chaos Lloret, was born around 1924 in Tetuán, Spanish Morocco
, where her father, a soldier in the Spanish Army
, was stationed.
de Juana and his brother, Altamira, grew up in mansion in Legazpi
. There his father who was a doctor worked at a major steel factory where he treated the workers. The family lived next to a Civil Guard
barracks and de Juana would play football with the children of the guards.
de Juana joined the military service and was even awarded a diploma from the city of Madrid
in recognition of the courage he showed in a fighting a major fire in the city in 1977. After military service, he joined the Basque Police
. He was promoted twice, but in 1983, he left the service. He then went across the border to France where he was involved in the clandestine ETA paramilitary group there.
and Berria
).
In November 2006, de Juana was sentenced to twelve years and seven months for allegedly making terrorist threats in two articles of opinion and he resumed his hunger strike.
In February 2007, de Juana's sentence for promoting terrorism was cut from more than 12 years, down to 3 years. On 24 February, thousands of people protested in Madrid against the ruling. According to two polls, the majority of Spaniards opposed this decision.
On 2 March 2007, the Spanish Government made the decision to essentially demote de Juana to house arrest due to worries over his health. This decision was criticized by the major conservative party, Partido Popular
, who denounced the move as an agreement between government and ETA, and an encouragement for future prisoner hunger strikes.
On 1 March 2007, de Juana ended his hunger strike after 114 days, after being moved from Madrid to a hospital in the Basque Region. He was to serve the remainder of his sentence on house arrest. On 10 March 2007, thousands of people protested in Madrid against the release of de Juana. On 6 June 2007, de Juana was sent back to prison one day after Eta said the ceasefire was to end.
Once again, on 17 July 2008, de Juana commenced his third hunger strike. This time he was protesting a decision by the Prosecutor's Office of the National Court to place a lean on an apartment which his wife owns. This will not stop him from living there, but it will stop the apartment from being sold. de Juana owes his victims €8
million.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
said De Jauana Chaos "generates a perfectly understandable feeling of contempt" among all citizens "and of course the head of the government". He added, "But we must respect the law."
. The address belonged to Jim Monaghan who was part of a group known as the Colombia Three
, captured in Colombia
and accused of training members of Farc before fleeing and being sentenced to 17 years in absentia
.
A warrant was issued by Interpol as a Spanish judge wanted de Juana to answer charges that he was "glorifying terrorism." The Irish Government
pledged its support to find de Juana. On 14 November, the PSNI
said they were looking for de Juana. de Juana's Belfast
lawyer said he would appear before a Belfast court on 17 November. When he came to court his lawyer said that he would fight extradition and that the maximum sentence on the charge was less than the minimum of three years necessary for extradition. His lawyer also challenged the basis of the charge which the Spanish state said was contained in a letter allegedly written by de Juana and allegedly quoted by a supporter at a function to welcome de Juana home. The British judge said needed to know specifically what laws had allegedly been broken by de Juana and whether similar charges existed under British law. De Juan was then released on bail, with a new trial date set for December. The Spanish state representative then consulted with the group Victimas del Terrorismo. Outside of the court there were protesters, some pro-Basque independence and others anti-ETA.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), better known as Iñaki de Juana Chaos, is a member of the Basque separatist group ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
. He was convicted of killing 25 people in 1987 and was originally sentenced to 3,000 years in prison. As a result of complicated sentencing guidelines, he became eligible for release in late 2004 after only serving 17 years. However, the Spanish Government
Spanish Government
Spain is a constitutional monarchy whose government is defined by the Constitution of Spain. This was approved by a general referendum of the people of Spain in 1978...
prevented his release by accusing him of making terrorist threats in two articles written from prison. In August 2006, he started a hunger strike protesting his continued imprisonment but it ended after sixty-three days. Another hunger strike occurred from November 2006 until March 2007, it ended after he was moved from a hospital in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to one in his home region of Guipuzcoa. After he left the hospital he was to be placed under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
, but on 6 June 2007, after the end of ETA's ceasefire he was sent to Aranjuez
Aranjuez
Aranjuez is a town lying 48 km south of Madrid, in the southern part of the Community of Madrid. It is located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers, 48 km from Toledo. As of 2009, it has a population of 54,055.-History:...
prison. On 2 August 2008, de Juana Chaos was released from prison.
Background
de Juana was born in Legazpia, GuipuzcoaLegazpi, Spain
Legazpi is a city in the Gipuzkoa province of the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain.Legazpi is a town of about 9000 inhabitants located on top of Urola valley, in Guipuzcoa...
. His father, Daniel de Juana Rubio, was born in the city of Miranda de Ebro
Miranda de Ebro
Miranda de Ebro is a city on the Ebro river in the province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located in the north-eastern part of the province, on the border with the province of Álava and the autonomous community of La Rioja...
in the province of Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
around 1908. He was a doctor who had also been a decorated military lieutenant on the Francoist side during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. His mother, Esperanza Chaos Lloret, was born around 1924 in Tetuán, Spanish Morocco
Spanish Morocco
The Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence.-Territorial borders:...
, where her father, a soldier in the Spanish Army
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...
, was stationed.
de Juana and his brother, Altamira, grew up in mansion in Legazpi
Legazpi, Spain
Legazpi is a city in the Gipuzkoa province of the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain.Legazpi is a town of about 9000 inhabitants located on top of Urola valley, in Guipuzcoa...
. There his father who was a doctor worked at a major steel factory where he treated the workers. The family lived next to a Civil Guard
Civil Guard
The Civil Guard , often abbreviated in Hebrew to Mash'az is a volunteer organization of Israeli citizens which assists in daily police work. It is a subdivision of the Israel Police.-Organization:...
barracks and de Juana would play football with the children of the guards.
de Juana joined the military service and was even awarded a diploma from the city of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in recognition of the courage he showed in a fighting a major fire in the city in 1977. After military service, he joined the Basque Police
Ertzaintza
The Ertzaintza , is the police force of the Basque Country, one of the autonomous communities of Spain. An Ertzaintza member is an ertzaina .- Origins :...
. He was promoted twice, but in 1983, he left the service. He then went across the border to France where he was involved in the clandestine ETA paramilitary group there.
Activity in ETA
In the mid 1980s, de Juana was the leader of the "Madrid Commando", a team attacking targets in the Madrid area- 12 June 1985 - machine gun vehicle killing ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Vicente Romero and his driver, Juan García Jiménez. After the shooting the group hid a booby trap bomb in their getaway car, which killed policeman Esteban del Amo. - 29 July 1985 - military vehicle machine gunned, killing Vice-Admiral Fausto Escrigas Estrada.
- 9 September 1985 - a car bomb exploded in plaza de la República Argentina against a Guardia Civil van. No agents were dead, but Eugene Kent Brown, an American jogging by, was killed.
- 25 April 1986 - car bomb in Madrid killed five policemen (Juan Carlos González, Vicente Javier Domínguez, Juan José Catón Vázquez, Juan Mateos Pulido y Alberto Alonso Gómez)
- 17 June 1986 - the car of Commander Ricardo Sáenz de Ynestrillas was machine-gunned resulting in the death of the commander, a lieutenant colonel (Carlos Vesteiro Pérez) and a soldier (Francisco Casillas Martín).
- 14 July 1986 - car bomb in Plaza de la República Dominicana that killed 12 policemen (Jesús María Freixes, Santiago Iglesias Rodino, Carmelo B. Álamo, Miguel A. Cornejo Ros, José Calvo Gutiérrez, Andrés José Fernández Pertierra, Antonio Lancharro Reyes, José Joaquín García Ruiz, Jesús Gimeno Gimeno, Juan Ignacio Calvo Guerrero, Javier Esteban y Ángel de la Higuera López)
Prison sentence
de Juana was arrested in 1987 and convicted of killing 25 people. He was sentenced to 3000 years, but under the law that was in place during de Juana's trial, the maximum sentence he could serve was 30 years. The Spanish justice system has a policy called remission, which states that time can be deducted from a prisoner's sentence for exhibiting good behavior and for other factors. As de Juana could only legally serve thirty years in prison, with his earned remission being subtracted from the sentence, he should have been released on October 2004. To stop de Juana from being released, the Prosecutor's Office charged him with making terrorist threats, using letters sent to the newspapers (GaraGara
Gara is a bilingual newspaper published in the city of San Sebastián in the Basque Autonomous Community...
and Berria
Berria
Berria is the only newspaper published wholly in the Basque language and which can be read in the entirety of the Basque country. It was created after the closure of the previous Basque language newspaper, Egunkaria, by the Spanish government, after being accused of having ties with ETA...
).
Hunger strike
On 7 August 2006, de Juana began a hunger strike to demand his release on October 4, 2006, the date which he should have been released under his original sentence. He began to be force-fed on 20 September. He ended the hunger strike after 63 days on 9 October.In November 2006, de Juana was sentenced to twelve years and seven months for allegedly making terrorist threats in two articles of opinion and he resumed his hunger strike.
In February 2007, de Juana's sentence for promoting terrorism was cut from more than 12 years, down to 3 years. On 24 February, thousands of people protested in Madrid against the ruling. According to two polls, the majority of Spaniards opposed this decision.
On 2 March 2007, the Spanish Government made the decision to essentially demote de Juana to house arrest due to worries over his health. This decision was criticized by the major conservative party, Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, who denounced the move as an agreement between government and ETA, and an encouragement for future prisoner hunger strikes.
On 1 March 2007, de Juana ended his hunger strike after 114 days, after being moved from Madrid to a hospital in the Basque Region. He was to serve the remainder of his sentence on house arrest. On 10 March 2007, thousands of people protested in Madrid against the release of de Juana. On 6 June 2007, de Juana was sent back to prison one day after Eta said the ceasefire was to end.
Once again, on 17 July 2008, de Juana commenced his third hunger strike. This time he was protesting a decision by the Prosecutor's Office of the National Court to place a lean on an apartment which his wife owns. This will not stop him from living there, but it will stop the apartment from being sold. de Juana owes his victims €8
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
million.
Release
On August 2, 2008 De Juana Chaos was released from prison after serving 21 years. Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
said De Jauana Chaos "generates a perfectly understandable feeling of contempt" among all citizens "and of course the head of the government". He added, "But we must respect the law."
Ireland
In September 2008, de Juana applied for a passport using an address in Dublin, IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The address belonged to Jim Monaghan who was part of a group known as the Colombia Three
Colombia Three
The Colombia Three are three individuals – Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley – who are currently living in the Republic of Ireland, having fled from Colombia, where they were sentenced to prison terms of seventeen years for training FARC rebels.-Arrest:The three came to...
, captured in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and accused of training members of Farc before fleeing and being sentenced to 17 years in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
.
A warrant was issued by Interpol as a Spanish judge wanted de Juana to answer charges that he was "glorifying terrorism." The Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
pledged its support to find de Juana. On 14 November, the PSNI
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
said they were looking for de Juana. de Juana's Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
lawyer said he would appear before a Belfast court on 17 November. When he came to court his lawyer said that he would fight extradition and that the maximum sentence on the charge was less than the minimum of three years necessary for extradition. His lawyer also challenged the basis of the charge which the Spanish state said was contained in a letter allegedly written by de Juana and allegedly quoted by a supporter at a function to welcome de Juana home. The British judge said needed to know specifically what laws had allegedly been broken by de Juana and whether similar charges existed under British law. De Juan was then released on bail, with a new trial date set for December. The Spanish state representative then consulted with the group Victimas del Terrorismo. Outside of the court there were protesters, some pro-Basque independence and others anti-ETA.
See also
- Bobby SandsBobby SandsRobert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
, a Provisional IRA prisoner whose death during a hunger-strike affected the worldwide perception of the positions of the IRA and the British government.