Since the end of November, Jauregui Espina – called ‘Jaione’ by her friends – has been in a Spanish cell. Although she is no longer persecuted, she cannot leave Spain for the time being. She must report to the Spanish court every month. Last week’s ruling can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The woman was arrested in Ghent in October 2013 on the basis of a European arrest warrant (EAW) that Spain had issued against her in 2004. However, that extradition request was judged at the time to be unfeasible, because there was a risk that the woman would become a victim of human rights violations in Spain and possibly be tortured. After that arrest, the woman was released again at the end of 2013. The woman has lived in our country since 2003. She lived in Ghent and worked as a cook.
The Spanish court wanted to prosecute her for, among other things, the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Ramón Romeo, who was killed in Bilbao in 1981 by a commando that was said to have been part of the Basque separatist movement ETA. According to the Spanish authorities, Jauregui Espina has been a member of ETA since at least 1978 and has belonged to the ‘Vizcaya commando’, which is considered responsible for the death of Ramón Romeo.
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