Former ETA inmates demand immediate prisoner transfers

A group of around 400 former ETA inmates demanded on Sunday quick transfers to Basque jails of terrorists currently serving time in Spanish and French penitentiaries, so that they can be closer to their families.

At a news conference, the former inmates explained that they were asking for the immediate transfers because "in the last few weeks the doors have opened for a just solution to the conflict." They believe that the Spanish and French governments should also do their parts.

Despite the positive steps made by ETA and radical abertzale left, "the elements and the consequences of the conflict still remain," namely the penitentiary policies of Spain and France, said Begoña Uzkudun and José Antonio Torre Altonaga reading from a statement. They took no questions afterwards.

Keeping the inmates far from the Basque Country "prevents the political prisoners from taking part in the open process in Euskal Herria," they said.

Some 10,000 ETA prisoners have passed through Spanish and French jails, according to the former inmates. The Basque terrorist organization's largest inmate group, EPPK, says it has 616 members now serving in different prisons.

The former inmates have called for a demonstration in favor of the transfers, to be held on January 7 in Bilbao.