Basque Government Grants Semi-Liberty to Former ETA Commando Leader Henri Parot

Basque Justice Department decision

The Basque Government Department of Justice, headed by María Jesús San José, granted third-degree penitentiary status to former ETA commando leader Henri Parot on 9 September 2026. The administrative progression follows an assessment and proposal from the treatment board at Zubieta prison in Gipuzkoa, where Parot has been held. Under Spanish penal regulations, the third-degree classification provides a semi-liberty regime that allows inmates to leave prison during the day for work or community activities. Parot, who entered prison in 1990 and accumulated 26 convictions totaling almost 4,800 years for 39 killings, has served 36 years toward Spain's 40-year statutory maximum prison limit. The Audiencia Nacional public prosecution must now evaluate the case and determine whether to appeal the decision before the Central Penitentiary Surveillance Court.

History of the Argala commando

Parot, a French national, began operating with ETA in the late 1970s and carried out his first fatal attack in Irún in November 1978 against contractor José Luis Legasa alongside Jean-Pierre Erremundeguy. He later led the Argala commando, a mobile unit composed entirely of French citizens that crossed the border to execute attacks before returning to France. The cell carried out 22 attacks that resulted in 38 deaths, including the killing of General Guillermo Quintana Lacaci and the 11 December 1987 car bombing of the Guardia Civil barracks in Zaragoza, which killed 11 people, including five children, and injured 88 others. Parot was arrested on 2 April 1990 in Santiponce, near Seville, after firing on Guardia Civil officers during a traffic stop involving his Renault 14, which contained 320 kilograms of amonal explosives intended for police headquarters, the Andalusian Parliament, and an El Corte Inglés department store.

Remorse statement and transition to semi-liberty

The move to third-degree status follows previous modifications to Parot's detention conditions since July 2025, when authorities granted him the application of Article 100.2 of the Prison Regulations. That framework permitted him to leave prison from Monday to Friday for volunteer activities while requiring him to return each night. Parot also received a six-day temporary release permit in 2025 approved by an Audiencia Nacional surveillance judge after submitting a letter renouncing violence.

I believe it is necessary to acknowledge the suffering caused by my former membership in ETA and try, as far as possible, to repair it.

Backlash from victim associations

Victims' organizations reacted with criticism to the Basque administration's decision. The Terrorism Victims Collective (Covite), led by Consuelo Ordóñez, characterized the decision as unacceptable, stating that Parot had not offered a genuine public apology or verifiably separated from ETA and its political support network.

Henri Parot has not publicly shown sincere remorse for his crimes, nor has he made a clear, unequivocal and verifiable break with ETA and with the political and social environment that justified and legitimized his murders.

The Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) also criticized the decision, noting that 124 ETA prisoners have received third-degree status, 28 have received Article 100.2 applications, and 62 have gained conditional release since the Basque Government assumed prison management powers on 1 October 2021. According to AVT, only 32 ETA members remain in ordinary prison regimes. Daniel Portero, president of Dignidad y Justicia, similarly criticized the measure, stating that Parot had not assisted in resolving unsolved killings.