Spanish PM voices 'contempt' for ETA killer set for release

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

MADRID (AFP) — Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero voiced "contempt" Friday for a convicted member of the Basque separatist group ETA who is to be released from prison, but said the "law must be respected."

Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos is to be freed from jail on Saturday after serving around 20 years of a 3,000-year sentence for the killing of 25 people in 11 attacks.

The impending release has sparked expressions of outrage from the Spanish media and associations representing the victims of terrorism, who have called for demonstrations on Saturday in Madrid and the Basque city of San Sebastian.

"I can only express an opinion: the law must be respected," Zapatero said.

"For all citizens, and of course the head of the government, this...