Parot Doctrine prisoners released: British-based ETA terrorist Antonio Troitiño A TERRORIST held in a UK prison after killing 22 people in the fatal bombings in Madrid perpetrated by the recently-released Inés de Río Prada has been let out on probation as a result of a recent ECHR verdict, but it is not clear whether the British courts will push for his extradition to Spain. Antonio Troitiño, now 56, was sentenced to 2,200 years in jail for various attacks in the 1980s when he was a member of Basque terrorist cell ETA, including a devastating blast in Madrids Plaza de la República Dominicana on July 14, 1986 (pictured below right). Along with Del Río Prada, he would only have to serve the then maximum sentence of 30 years, but the so-called Parot Doctrine was applied which meant any early-release time he had accumulated through good behaviour would come off his actual sentence – 2,200 years – rather than the term he was required to serve. Whilst the six years early release he built up would not have reduced his 30-year custodial term, since the sentence would have come down to 2,194 years, a verdict passed on Monday by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has rejected the retroactive application of the Parot Doctrine. Troitiño was released after 24 years in April 2011, but the Doctrine was then applied, meaning he would be arrested and returned to jail to serve the remaining six years, to end in the year 2017. By this time, however, he had already gone on the run. The terrorist was found in July 2012 in West London, where he had been living under an assumed name, and taken into custody where he was to remain until he was deported. His defence has so far managed to fight his extradition to finish his custodial term in his native country. But while his appeal to the ECHR over the retroactive application of the Parot Doctrine was being considered, Troitiño remained in Long Lartin prison just outside Evesham, in Worcestershire. As a result of the ECHR upholding his appeal along with that of his fellow terrorist Inés del Río Prada, Westminster High Court judge John Thomas de Cwmgiedd has released him on probation. Troitiño will live in a flat in London belonging to some friends and will be required to report daily to the police station. In the meantime, Cwmgiedd has contacted the Spanish authorities to find out whether they intend to scrap the extradition order. Troitiño does not want to return to Spain, but even if he did, it is likely he would be released without further charges. Although the ECHR verdict is not binding, Spain has signed up to the Convention on Human Rights and is therefore morally obliged to follow through with it. Justice minister Alberto Ruíz-Gallardón has already said the release of these and an estimated 55 other ETA terrorist, along with several rapists and murderers, has left a bitter taste in his mouth and in that of the government. Loved ones left behind by those who perished at the hands of ETA, and those who survived with serious, disabling injuries and psychological problems have arranged a countrywide protest march to be held this Sunday over the terrorists release. Source: Think Spain
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:56:30 +0000
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