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Spain: "Bugging" prison declared illegal

01 November 1994

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The Audiencia Provincial (provincial high court for criminal civil cases) in Madrid has upheld the decision in May by Francisco Romero, judge of the Chamber of Execution and Punishment, who decreed that the "permanent and hidden system to record conversations, which has been installed in the visiting rooms of the Alcala-Meco prison in Madrid" should be closed and removed.

Marti Mingarro, Dean of the Bar Association of Madrid, said he was asking the Minister of Justice and Interior, Juan Alberto Belloch, to order that the decision of the courts was complied with. Mr Mingarro said "it has been an intolerable and untenable situation for the right of the defence, as the interception of conversations between a lawyer and his client is illegal and is only allowed to be carried out with judicial authorisation in cases where the lawyer is suspected of committing a crime".

The court judgement arose when the Audiencia Nacional (national high court) acquitted the lawyer Txemi Gorostiza on 10 February because of lack of evidence after the state prosecutor had called for six years in prison on charges of collaborating with ETA. The case against the lawyer was based on recordings of a conversation made in the prison visiting room with three ETA defendants he was representing. The court declared that the recording was null and void because it "gravely infringed" the right of immunity and had not been judicially authorised.

Kontrola Kontrolpean, Donostia, Euskadi (State of Spain).

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