Etxerat.eus Relatives and friends of the Basque political prisoners
DISPERSAL POLICY MAP Nowadays there are 455 Basque political prisoners imprisoned.
Bapaume 2 973
Numbers in each prison: Rennes 3 701
Prison Prisoners
Km.
Alençon 2 735 Fresnes 7 810
Poissy 3 838
Nanterre 3 829
Fleury M. 12 806
The reference to calculate distances is the city of Donostia (San Sebastian)
Zaballa 2
Curtis 9 651
Monterroxo 5 643
A Lama 12 738
Martutene 2
Basauri 1
El Dueso 2 166
Burgos 6 218 Logroño 5 165 Soria Valladolid 4 261 7 349 Brieva 1 402 Segovia 1 408 Teruel
Huelva 14 994
Puerto I, II y III 31 1.020
Córdoba 11 818
Jaén 9 766 Granada 14 860
Liancourt 3 892
Clairvaux 3 962
Roanne 2 746
B.-en-Bresse 1 864 Lyon 3 875
Arles 1 662
Number of prisons
Daroca 3 343 1
432
Valencia II y III 22 601 Alacant II (Villena) 11 707 Alacant I 9 Murcia I y II
Tarascon 3 699
Zuera 12 300
Castelló I y II 17 574
Herrera M. 13 620
Sevilla II 11 960
Beziers 3 520
Ocaña I y II 10 513
Badajoz 9 756
La Santé 5 817
Moulins-Yzeure 3 710
Muret CD y Seysses 2 329 Lannemezan 6 231
MADRID
SPAIN
Meaux
Mont de Marsan 3 156
Dueñas 5 305
Cáceres II 6 657
867
Villepinte 3 847
FRANCE
Gradignan 2 233
Mansilla 8 366
Topas 12 467
Osny 875
Reau Bois d´Arcy 3 824 5 834
4 442 St. M. de Re
BASQUE COUNTRY
Villabona 6 384
4
2
St. Maur 6 560
Poitiers 5 467
Source: Etxerat. Map: GARA
Bonxe 1 613
PARIS
750
S. del Real 5 421 Aranjuez 7 511 Alcalá 4 463 Navalcarnero 3 485 Estremera 6 516
Basque Country
Number of prisoners
3
5
Spain
45
352
France
26
96
Germany
1
1
England
1
1
Portugal
1
1
-
5
76
455
Serving sentences at home
TOTAL
18 818
#BSQsHUMANRIGHTS
ASSOCIATION
1. We are relatives and friends of Basque political prisoners, exiles and deportees. Being a relative of a prisoner is not a matter of choice, but rather a situation imposed on us by the imprisonment or exile of our relatives. As such, there are different opinions and ideas among us. 2. This situation (of our relatives in exile, imprisonment and deportation) not only puts us face to face with the violation of their rights, but also of our rights as we do not abandon our emotional bonds with them. 3. We denounce the violation of our relatives’ rights and the violation of our rights, as well as using these rights as an instrument of blackmail, pressure and revenge. 4. We demand respect for all these people’s rights as an essential step towards resolution and peace. 5. We also demand recognition of these people’s suffering as a guarantee of a narrative based on truth and also as a guarantee of non-repetition.
WHAT IS ETXERAT? It is an association where relatives of Basque political prisoners, exiles and deportees can find: •
Assistance, advice and support to help them minimize the damage due to a harmful and traumatic situation that affects all aspects of their physical, mental, social and economic life: prison, exile, and deportation.
•
A space where their experiences can be shared and understood
•
An area of work: information, testimony, denunciation of wrong and demand for justice.
WHAT IS DISPERSAL POLICY? It is a special discriminatory policy applied by different Spanish and French governments for nearly three decades to the Basque political prisoners against the principles contained in the Spanish Penal Code: �The Spanish prisons are scattered throughout the country allowing inmates to serve their sentences in the nearest prison to their birthplace in order to avoid family and social uprooting.� 455 Basque political prisoners are imprisoned in 76 prisons.
DATA Distance
Percentage
Total distance for relatives
More than 1.000 km
14,06% (64 people)
More than 2000 km on average per visit
Between 990-800 km
26,81% (122 people)
1800 km on average per visit
Between 790-500 km
36,48% (166 people)
1300 km om average per visit
Between 490-400 km
6,81% (31 people)
900 km on average per visit
Less than 400 km
14,72% (67 people)
600 km on average per visit
Portugal, England and Germany
0,65% (3 people)
More than 2000 on average per visit
Therefore, the dispersal policy was designed with the aim to uproot the prisoners of their social, emotional and family environment, in addition to denying their right to take part in the political life of their country.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? This special measure applied to our imprisoned relatives directly affects their family and close environment. To exercise our right to visit them, we, relatives and friends are forced to travel in the worst conditions thousands of miles to visit them for an hour and a half (half an hour in Spain). The physical, financial and emotional toll is evident, even more in the cases of very remote prisons or in cases of very long sentences (some prisoners have served sentences of up to 31 years in). The most serious consequence is that in more than 25 years of dispersal policy 16 relatives and friends have died on the road, when travelling to visit an imprisoned relative. As long as this dispersal policy does not stop these families are at risk of death. As we do not abandon our emotional bonds with them, nowadays the family and friends of Basque political prisoners are doomed to continue traveling and to have high expenses. Our right to family conciliation, to life and in several cases, to health are subject to a political decision. We are unrecognized victims of a policy that seeks to pressure Basque political prisoners through their relatives. Victims of abuses, harassments, discriminations and systematic violations of our fundamental rights.
www.etxerat.eus