EU/NETHERLANDS: Eurojust's "ETA suspect" bailed
01 May 2002
On 16 January 2002 Juan Ramón Rodríguez Fernández - Juanra - was arrested in an Amsterdam supermarket by a Dutch police snatch squad and detained pending extradition to Spain, where the authorities claim he is a supporter of the Basque separatist group ETA. It later transpired that the raid had been organised by "pro-Eurojust" - the provisional EU prosecutions unit (see Statewatch News Online, February 2002 and Statewatch bulletin, vol 12 no 1).
The following day, at 3.30 am, Dutch police raided the "Vrankrijk", a well-known collective of squatters and activists in Amsterdam where Juanra had been staying. Two mobile phones and a Spanish novel were confiscated in a thorough search under a warrant issued by the Dutch judge. Media reports in both Spain and Holland heralded the success of EU police and judicial cooperation in apprehending an "ETA suspect" who was in Amsterdam to set-up a "terror network".
The extradition hearing took place on 25 June, by which time Juanra had spent more than six months in detention and in virtual isolation. The initial case against him was based on the testimony of Fernando García Jodrá, an alleged member of ETA's "Barcelona-commando" who was arrested in August 2001. According to the Spanish authorities, Jodrá had testified that Juanra had supplied information about the extreme rightwing organisation CEDADE to ETA. These allegations were later retracted by Jodrá, whose lawyer claims to have evidence that he was tortured following his arrest. This led the Spain authorities to change their case against Juanra, and the charges have now been changed five times. Discrepancies and contradictions from Spanish prosecutors and unanswered questions from the Dutch court have met with the response that key files and documents have been "lost".
After a lengthy consideration the judge ruled that Juanra could be freed on a 20,000 euro bail pending a final extradition hearing on 17 September. Supporters of Juanra claim that his arrest was little more than an attempt to harass and discredit squatters and activists in both Spain and Holland - and unless the prosecution can come up with fresh and concrete evidence in the next month these claims are likely to be vindicated.
The case may also vindicate those who have expressed concerns about the activities of Eurojust and the recently agreed European Arrest Warrant which will replace extradition procedures in the EU by the end of 2003. Had it been in place already, Juanra would almost certainly have been transferred to Spain without a chance for his lawyer to respond to the dubious case against him.
Sources:
http://www.freejuanra.org; Statewatch News Online, February 2002,
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2002/feb/02eurojust.htm