ETA 3.0: Spain's Guardia Civil details Jardun evidence
Spain's Guardia Civil says the Jardun suspects had satellite phones, violent manuals and coordinates of two hideouts. The Basque police did not arrest them.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The Guardia Civil (Spain's Civil Guard) maintains that the Jardun members accused of terrorism had satellite phones, manuals on violent acts, data on civil guards and the coordinates of two hideouts. According to that account, Ertzaintza commanders did not consider it sufficient grounds to arrest them.
The Guardia Civil has released its version of the material seized from the **Jardun** members accused of terrorism. According to that account, the group had satellite phones, manuals on violent acts, personal details of civil guards and the coordinates of two hideouts containing weapons and explosives. It is a description of the equipment attributed to them, not a verdict: the case is still ongoing and the legal classification of the facts rests with the courts.
## What is Jardun and why the material matters
Jardun is the name given to the collective of lawyers and activists linked to the abertzale left (Basque pro-independence movement) who were investigated for alleged membership of ETA. The relevance of the described material is considerable. A satellite phone allows communication without relying on the mobile network. A manual on violent acts points to training. A list of civil guards and coordinates of hideouts with explosives place the investigation in the territory of attack preparation, always according to the Guardia Civil's account.
## The decision by Ertzaintza commanders
The point at the centre of the controversy is another one. According to the same account, the commanders of the **Ertzaintza** (the Basque regional police) did not consider that set of indications sufficient grounds to arrest the suspects. The Basque regional police have jurisdiction to investigate crimes in their territory, and their judgement on the arrests is a key piece of the case. A state force and a regional force disagreeing over the sufficiency of the evidence is not exceptional, but here the disagreement affects the freedom of people accused of terrorism.
## What is proven and what is not
It is worth separating the levels. The existence of the material and its contents is what the Guardia Civil asserts. Assessing whether it was enough to justify arrests is a legal question that the courts will resolve. Any reading that takes the suspects' guilt for granted goes beyond what the police report states. And any reading that dismisses the material because of the decision not to arrest does not hold up either: they are two separate judgements.
The Guardia Civil has released its version of the material seized from the **Jardun** members accused of terrorism. According to that account, the group had satellite phones, manuals on violent acts, personal details of civil guards and the coordinates of two hideouts containing weapons and explosives. It is a description of the equipment attributed to them, not a verdict: the case is still ongoing and the legal classification of the facts rests with the courts.
## What is Jardun and why the material matters
Jardun is the name given to the collective of lawyers and activists linked to the abertzale left (Basque pro-independence movement) who were investigated for alleged membership of ETA. The relevance of the described material is considerable. A satellite phone allows communication without relying on the mobile network. A manual on violent acts points to training. A list of civil guards and coordinates of hideouts with explosives place the investigation in the territory of attack preparation, always according to the Guardia Civil's account.
## The decision by Ertzaintza commanders
The point at the centre of the controversy is another one. According to the same account, the commanders of the **Ertzaintza** (the Basque regional police) did not consider that set of indications sufficient grounds to arrest the suspects. The Basque regional police have jurisdiction to investigate crimes in their territory, and their judgement on the arrests is a key piece of the case. A state force and a regional force disagreeing over the sufficiency of the evidence is not exceptional, but here the disagreement affects the freedom of people accused of terrorism.
## What is proven and what is not
It is worth separating the levels. The existence of the material and its contents is what the Guardia Civil asserts. Assessing whether it was enough to justify arrests is a legal question that the courts will resolve. Any reading that takes the suspects' guilt for granted goes beyond what the police report states. And any reading that dismisses the material because of the decision not to arrest does not hold up either: they are two separate judgements.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (8 replies).
More summaries
-
Forum debate on Sequera, ex-Civil Guard analyst on YouTube
The Burbuja forum discusses Francisco José Fernández-Cruz Sequera: his Germanophilia, his erudition and his character. No verified data on his biography.
-
Judge in Koldo case moves to indict Ábalos
The judge moves to indict Ábalos after UCO report; PP summons Marlaska and Globalia CEO to Senate committee
-
Spain's Civil Guard AI Hate Crime Campaign Sparks Backlash
The Guardia Civil promoted an anti-hate campaign using AI-generated images, triggering debates on hate crime definitions and police overreach.
-
The provincial map of tactical voting that splits Spain's right
A province-by-province map designed to decide how to vote against the left has split Spain's right: tactical voting, made-up provinces and the d'Hondt law remain unanswered.
-
AI-generated dystopia about election riots enabling a Sánchez coup in Spain
A speculative story imagines riots on election day to suspend the vote and stage a coup. There is no evidence of such a plan or of Russian interference.
-
Sánchez and the toll of governing without a majority in Spain
Forum debate on Pedro Sánchez's political wear: criticism of VOX, immigration, euthanasia and pandemic management, with no verifiable data on the matter.