Spain
Daily acquitted of Basque terrorist connectionsPosted May 3 2010
A Spanish court decided April 12 to acquit five journalists, who worked for the Basque-language newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria, of connections to the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), or “Basque Homeland and Freedom” in English.
The daily has been closed since February 2003, when the charges were originally pressed, according to Reporters Without Borders. It has taken seven years to move the proceedings all the way to Spain’s National Court, which is the highest court in the country.
Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez ruled that the prosecution was unsuccessful in proving any relation to ETA. He said the original ruling was not constitutionally based. According to the judge, article 55.1 of Spain’s 1978 constitution allowed suspension of freedom of information in a state of emergency, according to Reporters Without Borders. The newspaper’s situation, which involved terrorism, did not apply.