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| Spain orders Eta convict's release after European ruling | Spain orders Eta convict's release after European ruling |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Spanish judges have ordered the release of a convicted Basque militant, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled against her continued detention. | Spanish judges have ordered the release of a convicted Basque militant, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled against her continued detention. |
| Ines del Rio, of the separatist group Eta, has been serving a 30-year sentence for bomb attacks in the 1980s. | Ines del Rio, of the separatist group Eta, has been serving a 30-year sentence for bomb attacks in the 1980s. |
| The High Court backed the ruling of a Strasbourg court on Monday against Spanish laws that denied her right to earn remission through prison work. | The High Court backed the ruling of a Strasbourg court on Monday against Spanish laws that denied her right to earn remission through prison work. |
| Spain says dozens of Eta prisoners could now be eligible for release. | Spain says dozens of Eta prisoners could now be eligible for release. |
| Monday's Strasbourg ruling "gives us no choice", concluded a prosecutors' report at the High Court requesting Del Rio's immediate release, reported El Pais newspaper. | |
| Parot doctrine | |
| Del Rio was arrested in 1987 for her part in 23 murders and car bombings carried out by Eta. | |
| She was later sentenced to more than 3,800 years in jail, but the criminal code in force at the time reduced this to a maximum stay of 30 years. | |
| Del Rio earned sentence reductions through prison work, making her eligible for release in July 2008 - but the High Court applied what is known as the "Parot doctrine" to extend her detention. | |
| Under this doctrine, sentence reductions are applied to the sentences for individual crimes - collectively amounting to more than 3,800 years - rather than the overall 30-year maximum stay. | |
| But on Monday the European Court of Human Rights condemned Spain for this practice and ordered Spain to ensure her immediate release and to pay her 30,000 euros (£25,400; $41,000) in compensation. | |
| Although the Strasbourg court's ruling only applied to Del Rio, the Spanish government has said dozens of other convicted Eta members could be eligible for release. |