TerrorismSpanish judge frees puppeteers jailed for glorifying Basque terrorism

Published 11 February 2016

A judge has freed two Spanish puppeteers who were jailed Saturday for glorifying terrorism after they staged a violent puppet show which made references to Basque militant group ETA. ETA has killed more than 800 people since it launched its campaign in the early 1980s to establish a Basque state in northern Spain and southern France.

Basque region straddles Spain and France // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

A judge has freed two Spanish puppeteers who were jailed Saturday for glorifying terrorism after they staged a violent puppet show which made references to Basque militant group ETA.

Euro Weekly News reports that Raul Garcia, 34, and Alfonso Lazaro, 29, have been in custody since Saturday for staging the show “The Witch and Don Cristobal” as part of carnival celebrations in Madrid. Children and adults present at the show saw scenes depicting the hanging of a judge and the rape of a nun, who was later stabbed to death with a crucifix

The arrests of the two ignited a storm across the Spanish political spectrum. Some criticized the leftwing mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, whose office paid for and promoted the show – apparently without being aware of its contents. Others charged the Spain’s legal system with overreacting.

“It is ridiculous that in a democratic country someone could be in jail for a piece of theatre,” Pablo Iglesias, the leader of left-wing Podemos, told Cadena Ser radio.

Jorge Fernández Díaz, the interior minister from the acting center-right People’s Party government, voiced support for the arrests, saying the puppeteers’ reference to ETA glorified the militants and humiliated victims.

ETA has killed more than 800 people since it launched its campaign in the early 1980s to establish a Basque state in northern Spain and southern France.

The judge who sent the two to jail said he made his decision because one puppet was holding up a sign referring to ETA. The glorification of terrorism is a crime under Spanish law.

The state prosecutor recommended to the judge that Garcia and Lazaro be freed because they do not pose a flight risk. The judge agreed, but said the pair would still have to make daily appearances before the court and would not be allowed to leave the country.