Overview
- On Thursday the Paris Court of Appeal acquitted José Antonio Urrutikoetxea, known as Josu Ternera, finding insufficient evidence that he belonged to ETA between 2002 and 2005 and the judge did not order prison or permanent expulsion.
- Earlier this month the same court approved a European Arrest Warrant issued by Spanish judge Santiago Pedraz that authorized Ternera's delivery to Spain on a deferred basis.
- Spain still has two open cases against Ternera: an investigation into alleged ETA financing through herrikotabernas and the Zaragoza barracks bombing that killed 11 people and wounded dozens.
- Ternera was arrested in the French Alps in May 2019, spent just over a year in pretrial detention in France, and his lawyers have used repeated appeals to delay any transfer to Spain.
- The acquittal removes the final French legal obstacle and could speed Spain's request for delivery, which would allow Spanish courts to decide whether to bring him to trial on the pending charges and affect victims' families seeking closure.