the same police and judicial system continue with the same policies and repression. After failing to deport three Basque French citizens (officially) trough an euro-order, the new Spanish continues to push for new deportations. Josu Lariz has been living in Uruguay for 15 years. In 2002 Lariz was kidnapped in Uruguay and taken to Argentina, as the attempts to extradite him from Uruguay in 1992 and 2001. The Spanish government has demanded his extradition and he was tried on 8th June in Argentina. The judge requires no proofs for his extradition. The following is his testimony in court .

Josu Lariz Iriondo was tried in Argentina on 8th June in the Comodoro Py Court. The result will be made public on 17th June. This is his testimony in court – a clear example of what Spanish repression and ‘justice’ have been gor Basques in the latest years. There is a new government in Spain, and expectations for the Basque Country continue to be very poor: the same police and judicial system continue with the same policies and repression. After failing to deport three Basque French citizens (officially) trough an euro-order, the new Spanish continues to push for new deportations. Josu Lariz has been living in Uruguay for 15 years. In 2002 Lariz was kidnapped in Uruguay and taken to Argentina, as the attempts to extradite him from Uruguay in 1992 and 2001. The Spanish government has demanded his extradition and he was tried on 8th June in Argentina. The judge requires no proofs for his extradition. The following is his testimony in court . The Basque Diaspora together with many Uruguayans had been demonstrating for years, the most spectacular ones in 1993 and 2002Info on Josu Lariz'case: www.josu-askatu.org/Other deportation cases:  http://www.euskalinfo.org.uk/feature/display/77/index.php
After introducing himself and addressing to his supporters in Basque, Josu Lariz started to tell the jury what the Basque Country’s situation is as well as his. He explained he had been accused without evidence and only because of his political ideas. He explained how nowadays any Basque could be detained, held incommunicado and tortured just for being Basque and that presumed innocence is not respected. In Josu’s’ case, his extradition from Uruguay was refused twice and he ended up being kidnapped and taken to Argentina where his trial took place last 8th June. Afterwards Josu explained some of the events in his life which made him think as he does and for people to help to understand his situation. His uncle, a catholic priest, was imprisoned and condemned to 20 years in the Burgos process where others were condemned to death penalty and death row. This together with the repression he and his family suffered for speaking Basque (his granparents didn’t even speak Spanish), made him to get involved in politics and social movements from early age and until 1984 when he went on exile. He suffered repression because of this involvement: he was arrested and beaten up together with other 200 people when he was going to the funerals of Mikel Arregi killed in police station. Three years later, in 1987 he was involved in the Basque nationalist trade union LAB when he found out through other union mates that 40 other mates had been arrested and that the police could be after him. Fearing detention and torture he left for the French side of the Basque Country. A week after his parents confirmed that the police had entered their house and threatened his parents and family with detention and torture. Those days in exile weren’t easy ones: the para-military Spanish group GAL had started its activity in the French occupied Basque Country. Between 1980 and 1988, 30 Basque refugees and two French citizens were killed by them. He managed to work legally until 1988, but then, González and Mitterand signed a co-operation agreement and Basques start to loose their work permits and to be detained and deported to Spain. During that time more than 300 people were deported through the Intxaurrondo police station (Donostia/San Sebastian), infamous for the practice of torture in its basements. In 1988 Josu escaped death by changing plans: he was to go to the Mont Bar to watch a football match with his friends when he had a visit and decided otherwise. That night GAL killed 4 people in Mont Bar and injured many others. Without work permit, witnessing murders, vulnerable, fearing detention, deportation and even torture, he decided to leave for another country. On 7th July 1988 he left for Uruguay. He got a job in Montevideo as a cook. However, the persecution against him continued. In 1992, a huge police operation under the name ‘Lagarto’ (‘Lizard’) ended up with the arrest of 30 people. From them, 15 were reclaimed by Spain to be deported. Because of the environment in Spain (Expo, Olympic Games, 5th Centenary), the Spanish government wanted to show to be on top of terrorism: the Spanish government claimed they had stricken against ETA’s leadership! The operation counted with the blatant participation of the Spanish state in this Latin American country: home minister Rafael Vera (tried and involved with the GAL) was there as well as Guardias Civiles for the interrogation and a Spanish Air Force plane flow to Uruguay too to deport them. Basque Euro MP Karmelo Landa flew to Uruguay too and contrasted all the Spanish government’s propaganda in the Uruguyan TV. Josu was tried and his charges dropped because of lack of evidence. He was taken to the Uruguayan High Justice Court where he was also found innocent. As all the detainees’ cases failed, the Spanish government proceed to bribe Uruguay by offering support for the police, easy loans, etc. Three Basques were finally deported. Thousands of Uruguayans went to the street to demonstrate against the deportations, because as well as being an injustice, Spain had interfered in their national policy and imposed her agenda. On the day of the their deportation, while in hunger strike in Filtro hospital, thousands demonstrated. The police charged brutally and the Uruguayan Fernando Morroni (21) and Roberto Facal ( http://www.spunk.org/library/pubs/lr/sp001716/uruguay.html ) were shot dead and hundreds were injured with bullets. On 5th November 2001 Josu Lariz was detained again by 30 masked policemen when his wife was going to work. The police didn’t allow the neighbours to witness anything. They seized some of his and his wife’s property, but he was charged with things he didn’t owe like some computer disks (they didn’t have a computer and they signed an inventory too). In that trial, Josu Lariz told the judge that he had been victim of a set up. The police and the prosecutor said that in those disks there was information by Josu asking ETA to bomb Uruguayan embassies. The judge decided that Josu had acted against the hosting country to be able to expel him and of ‘criminal association’ being sentenced to two years imprisonment. He spent them in one of the most infamous Uruguayan prisons, called ironically Libertad. This detention, as Josu pointed out in is new farce trial, happened two months after the events of S-11 in the Twin Towers. He was released again and in January 2002 he started working in another restaurant. A few months after he noticed he was followed. In April 2002 judge Garzón demanded his extradition again for the same reasons that nine years before. In June, a media campaign spreads that Josu is hidden from the justice. Spanish minister Acebes also said he was the most wanted ETA member! He’s arrested again on 31st July 2002. He’s taken to court and from there to prison, but the car carrying him goes to the airport where two INTERPOL cops are waiting for him. They want him to sign a document and have false Spanish passport for him. He was taken in a plane and taken to Argentina where he was handled to that country’s INTERPOL. His deportation to Argentina was declared illegal by the Uruguayan government and as a result judge Ana Lima was forced to resign. Josu Lariz confirmed once again not to belonging to ETA and not to know anything about the crime he had been accused of - he has an alibi too as he was working at the time of the crime he was accused of and he has his former company’s time sheet. In this new trial on 8th June 2004 in Comodoro Py Court of Argentina, Josu ended up his speech by saying in Basque: ‘EUSKALDUNA NAIZ ETA EUSKADI DUT MAITE ORREGATIK PRESO SARTU NAUTE. GORA EUSKADI ASKATUTA!’ (I’m Basque and love the Basque Country and that’s why they have imprisoned me. Long live a free Basque Country!). And he thanked the support for him both in Uruguay and Argentina reclaiming solidarity among peoples and counties.FREE JOSU LARIZ! STOP THE PERSECUTION OF BASQUES!STOP THE SET-UPS! STOP REPRESSION!