2007/I/12
Solidarity at prison, freedom for Sebas!!!

The 11th of October, 60 people went to Bilbao answering to the calling Askatasuna and Askapena did, to denounce the journalist Sebastian Bedouret's and Basque Country's situation.

Sebastian was arrested on Saturday evening, when he was going to the meeting the movement for Amnesty wanted to make at San Sebastian. The movement for Amnesty was supposed to talk publicly about their proposal of how to make steps forward in the peace-process. The international observers were coming to support this proposition and Sebas was there when he was arrested.

He was arrested because "there was a Zutabe (ETA's political magazine) in the place he was sitting in the bus", according to the police. He has been arrested and keep incommunicated by the Guardia Civil for two days and a half, all the time he spent there, he was naked, he has been threatened, insulted and he also was hit. He had to repeat nine times the auto inculpation he had to make in front of the judge, until he knew it by heart.

Later, the Spanish National Court judge Ismael Moreno sent him to the prison "Soto del Real", without listening to his torture denounces and despite the fact Sebas told him the auto inculpation he signed was false.

On the other hand, the French police searched his and his girlfriend's house for ten hours. We want to remind, they are going to give birth at the end of February.

Sebastian's work has always been related with some countries' internationalist solidarity, and especially with the Basque Country. He has been working for Radio Pays/Txalaparta as journalist, he has been part of the committee for solidarity with the Basque Country SPBL-Paris, he has been helping political prisoners' families, pushing for lots of solidarity acts...

The fact is that they didn't just want to arrest him, they wanted to cut off everything he's been doing for long time and it is this what we wanted to denounce at Bilbao and we wanted to send him our solidarity.

Solidarity at prison, freedom for Sebas!!!