Ógra SF highlight human rights abuses in Basque Country

[pogo]

Any chance of posting a link to the discussion so that people can read the context in which it was posted?

http://politics.ie/viewtopic.php?p=355292#355292

[Carrier]

Red1916, can you tell me why Ogra SF declined to participate in the Aiden Hulme repatriation picket yesterday?

I've been told there was actally one guy there from Ogra present. Fair play to him for coming along.

[qwertyu]

Can anyone detail (recent) examples of this Spanish State Torture? I'd expect a thread on the subject of Ogra SF highlighting it would have some description of what they're highlighting.

I certainly don't consider sending prisoners to prisons long distances from their families to be "torture", especially if they're part of an organised armed group and therefore there's a potential security risk. Any details on the "prisoner abuse" Carrier referred to?

Well both the United Nations and Amnesty International have condemned the Spanish Government for being involved in institutionlised torture and this usually occurs when Basque prisoners are 'incommunicado'. This is a period of 5 days when the detainee is subject to suffocation by placing a plastic bag over his head, repeated beatings, psychological torture, etc. After this period the prisoner is usually asked to sign a statement of guilt or faces the threat of more torture - something that may sound familiar to Irish republicans.

Torturers have been convicted by Spanish Courts but have been given an immediate 'pardon' by the Spanish Government. Many of the prisoners have nothing to do with an 'armed group', and many are convicted for membership of youth groups, working for a Basque newspaper, etc.

The real question that has to be asked is why the International media seems oblivious to all of this?

[qwertyu]

Theres a piece on the North Antrim website about a previous Ógra delegation to Euskal Herria which gives a little more background information on the situation: http://www.northantrimsinnfein.com/id40.html