Update: Ivan remains in prison in Madrid after a brutal deportation. He now faces up to four years of detention before trial, which will then take place under the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's national security court which was established by Franco.

After being taken from his cell in a Montreal prison on the afternoon of Saturday, October 18th, Ivan Apaolaza Sancho arrived in Spain in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 19th.

During the 6-hour flight, which appears to have been on a chartered jet, Ivan was bound at his hands and feet and chained to his seat. He was flown on a private plane a day later than initially announced. The deportation officers who escorted him to Madrid informed him that the commercial airline on which he was supposed to have been deported refused, at the last minute, to allow him to be deported on their flight.

Immediately upon arrival in Spain, he was handed over directly to the Spanish Civil Guard, thereby confirming what had long been alleged by Ivan's supporters in Canada: that the deportation proceedings were in reality an extradition in disguise, where the Spanish and Canadian governments chose to proceed by way of deportation to avoid the minimal protection of Ivan's rights that an extradition would have afforded.

The Spanish media coverage was well orchestrated and displayed Ivan as a trophy brought home by the Spanish state, portraying him as if he were already a convicted terrorist and ignoring the fact that he has yet to be tried or convicted of any crime. The reaction of the Spanish media and the Spanish government leaves little hope of a fair trial.

After spending the day in prison on Sunday, Ivan appeared before a judge of the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's national security court, established by Franco) in Madrid, and was then ordered back the the Soto Del Real prison to continue his pre-trial detention.

On top of the 16 months already spent in a Canadian prison, Ivan now faces up to 4 years of pre-trial detention, with the result that he could spend well over five years in jail before he is even judged. To make matters worse, Basque prisoners are frequently 'ghosted' by the Spanish authorities--that is, transferred from prison to prison so often that they become destabilized.

Importantly, Ivan was not subjected to the incommunicado detention regime that so many Basque political prisoners face, and he thus avoided the conditions in which the risk of torture was highest. Ivan's legal team in Spain has informed us that he was likely spared this treatment due, at least in part, to the campaign in Canada which focused public and political attention on his case.

On October 30th 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Committee released its periodic report on Spain.

The Committee chastised Spain, among other things, for the continuing use of torture and the failure to take appropriate measures to stop it, for its over-expansive definition of 'terrorism', for its use of incommunicado detention, and for the extremely long periods of pre-trial detention allowed for under Spanish law. The Report confirms the position that Ivan, his lawyers, and the Committee have long taken. A French version of the report can be downloaded at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs94.htm

The Freedom for Ivan Committee will stay in close contact with Ivan's lawyers and family in the Basque country and will continue to pass on information on how to support him in his struggle for justice.

We encourage you to write to Ivan. Letters can be sent to

Ivan Apaolaza Sancho
Madrid V Soto del Real
Carretera Comarcal 611
28791 Soto del Real

* A photo gallery highlighting various aspects of the campaign is available at http://photos.cmaq.net/v/Ivan/

* For video of an action in support of Ivan by the Dublin Basque committee, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CziZcvh45VE