Government ponders fate of ETA cancer pair
Two were jailed in 1989 for bombing a Civil Guard barracks
The Interior Ministry is studying the case of two ETA prisoners petitioning for early release on compassionate grounds. José Ángel Biguri Camino and Gotzone López de Luzuriaga are both ex-members of the Araba cell who were jailed in 1989 for their part in the bombing of a Civil Guard barracks in Llodio.
Both have cancer and launched their bids for early release based on medical reports by doctors at the Martutene prison in Gipuzkoa. The abertzale left has repeatedly called on the government to consider releasing terminally ill ETA inmates, and this time has the backing of both the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Socialists in the northern region. Supporters point out that early release in these cases is laid out in penitentiary legislation if standard requirements are met.
ETA declared a "definitive" ceasefire last year, and there have been no attacks reported since then.