The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has struck down Spain’s ‘Parot doctrine’, a legal means to ensure that terrorists and other long-term convicts are not released significantly before the end of their sentences.
The court in Strasbourg upheld an appeal by convicted ETA terrorist Inés del Río (convicted of 24 murders) against her prolonged stay in prison. She has so far served 26 years and two months of 3,828 year sentence.
The Strasbourg court’s ruling means that 61 ETA prisoners and at least 14 common criminals could be released immediately. Seventy-six other Basque terrorists could benefit from the decision in the mid-to-long term, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.
An ECHR spokesman stated that the ruling is binding on Spain, that it sets legal precedent and that the Spanish authorities must accept and apply it.
The Parot doctrine was introduced by the Supreme Court in 2006 to prevent criminals with long convictions from walking free early thanks to the 1973 Criminal Code, which allowed sentence reductions for participation in workshops and courses, these being deductable from the maximum prison term of 30 years. Instead, the reductions are now deducted from each of the counts on which the prisoner was convicted.
Before the Parot doctrine, a convicted terrorist would normally serve a maximum of 30 years, regardless of the actual sentence, such as 3,828 years in the case of Del Rio. However, penitentiary benefits often reduced that to 18 or 20 years. Since 2006, this has meant’t that the convict effectively serves the 30 years maximum sentence.
Del Rio could even be due compensation under the ruling for ‘illegal detention’, despite the fact that she has not served the maximum 30 years and was sentenced to 3,828 years in prison after being convicted of 24 murders. A figure of €30,000 for ‘moral damages’ and €1,500 for ‘costs’ has been reported.