Magistrate alters norms that have been maintained by the National Court to get prison benefits

The National High Court has modified the norms framed in granting exit permits to ETA prisoners. in a resolution of which the magistrate Jose Ricardo de PradaCourt estimates ETA appeal Gorka Loran Lafourcade And it has given him the permit that was opposed by the prosecutor’s office and which was rejected by the prison oversight judge.

The novelty of the order is that it lessened the requirements created by the Criminal Chamber to authorize gang inmates to go out on the street. Until now, the Court had required that whoever requested benefits apologize to the victims of terrorism and did so credibly. The court did not validate common and standardized letters among prisoners, who, it understood, were “finalists” and sought only access to prison benefits.

On the other hand, the order of the first clause begins by saying that the law does not “absolutely” require a request for repentance or pardon to be obtained. “The circumstance expressed that there is no record of a prisoner expressing remorse and requesting pardon from victims, not a legal requirement to obtain a prison permit and that his only possible assessment acceptable at this time is solely indicative (a not as an obligation) a good prison development, which can also be deducted from other elements”.

For the specific case of Lorraine Lafourcade, those “other elements” that open the door to Permit are good prison records and the nearness of the end of his sentence. The 20 years imposed on him ended in December 2023. Furthermore, the Lava prison in which he is interned is in favor of authorizing his exit.

letter with resource

According to the new criterion put forward in this case, from now on the absence of remorse or specific pardon can be replaced by other data, according to the resolution, with de Prada, the magistrate and francisco vieira (Chairman) and Mara Fernanda Garca,

The court also uses a letter from the prisoner that he did not present before requesting the permits, but when they were denied and he had to appeal the oversight judge’s decision to the Court’s Criminal Chamber.

His appeal was accompanied by a brief saying that he had “matured” and “reflected” in his time in prison. “I don’t think the way I thought I did when I committed those crimes. My life, my way of thinking has evolved. I know the organization I belonged to has caused a lot of suffering to a lot of people, and I have a need to recognize that suffering because, although the crimes I have committed have not been direct victims, I feel the pain of all the victims that ETA caused. […] A pain and suffering that I deeply regret.”

“positive review”

Faced with the disbelief with which the section dealing with all appeals had so far received most of the letters of alleged remorse, the order stated that “this letter shall not in any way be considered negative or contemptuous”. disapproval, misunderstanding or disapproval, but conversely, a positive critique must be made that conveys its clearly expressed state of intense quest for re-socialization and social reintegration serves to strengthen it.

Reporters to the resolution have just joined the Court’s First Division, which reviews resources on permits and releases of ETA members. The amendment – prompted by the departure of the two magistrates from the Constitutional Court – caused concern among victims’ unions, who consider de Prada to be always inclined to accept the research of accused or those already convicted of terrorism.